Memories
by SindriaGirl
Summary: The sequel to Esla the Magician, it will be set in the Kou Empire. During the invasion of Sindria Esla was kidnapped by Al-Thamen. Now she lives in the Kou Empire with her memories erased. Sinbad grieves over his lost child, to what lengths will he go in order to get her back.
1. Prologue

A few months had past since AL-Thamen had invaded Sindria. Everyone thought it was strange, they came as suddenly as they left. But at the time no one knew that Esla had been kidnapped. She was gone and no one knew where they had taken her. Sinbad had immediately ordered for a search, all the while hoping that she was just on one of the smaller islands. But that way of thinking soon faded as it began to dawn on him that Esla had been taken from him once again. This hurt him more then anything else had, suddenly all he could think about was finding Esla and bringing her home.

As he continued to grieve all the Generals became concerned for his health. However all they could do was watch as the void that had been left by Esla began to overtake him. Jafar and the other were overwhelmed by the amount of extra work they had to do because Sinbad was absent all the time. However eventually he broke completely broke down and more of his Rukh began to turn black.

"Esla, Esla, Esla! Where are you, please be safe, please still be alive," Sinbad was sitting on the edge of his bed with his face buried in his hands.

The door was open a crack as Jafar looked in. Everyone was worried about him. He hadn't been sleeping and was barely eating.

Aladdin, Allibaba and Morgiana had joined the search to help find Esla but couldn't find any leads on where she might be. They hadn't even heard any rumors about Esla being in the Kou Empire.

…

However, in the capital of the Kou Empire, on top of a mountain stood a certain young woman, her long purple hair blowing in the wind.

**Just a short chapter to start things off, hope you all liked it and feel free to comment down below and tell me your thoughts.**


	2. Scattered Memories

There was black all around. It was like an ocean of darkness. There was no light. No sound. No air. It felt like she was drowning in the darkness, she tried to escape but couldn't tell which way was up and which way was down. Where was she? She had no idea. There was nothing she could do, her memories were all gone, it was like she was frozen. A very small dim light suddenly appeared that grew brighter and brighter.

Her eyes flicked open.

"Where… am… I?" she said softly, "Who… am I?" she slowly pushed herself into a sitting position and noticed she was in bed. A terrible pain ran down her legs.

"It's good to see you're finally awake," she turned her head to see a woman dressed in black with red hair standing next to her bed, "Do you have any memory of what happened to you?" the woman asked.

She slowly shook her head in confusion, "No…"

A small, hidden smile appeared on the woman's face, "Your mother sent you on an important mission for this country about a month ago, during that mission we were caught in a rock slide and you must have hit your head. We believe that this may be what has caused you to loose your memories," the girl pushed herself up out of bed and soon collapsed dew to the immense pain that shot through her legs.

"This country?" she asked softly.

"Yes, this is the great Kou Empire. This country is ruled over by the Empress Gyokuen, you may not remember but she is your mother as well as the Empress. You are a Princess of the Kou Empire, Kimiko!"

Kimiko held her head and closed her eyes, "But, my mother died a long time ago?"

The red haired women knelt down next to Kimiko, "No, your memories are still scrambled, it was your father the Emperor who died of an illness not your mother,"

Kimiko let her arms fall to her sides, "Who are you?" she asked tilting her head.

"My name is Falan… I am a Magician of the Kou Empire and have been tasked with watching over you and making sure you are safe at all times."

"Falan?" Kimiko repeated letting the name roll off her tongue softly, she didn't know why but she suddenly felt on edge with this woman so close to her.

Falan grabbed Kimiko's hand and pulled the young girl to her feet, "Now then I'm sure you'll want to see your mother, but before you do you'll need a bath and a fresh change of cloths,"

…

Kimiko pushed her purple hair out of her eyes as she looked at herself in the full body mirror. She now wore a black Kimono with a red floral pattern and matching red sash tied around her waste to keep the Kimono in place that went down to her knees, and on her feet she wore simple black shoes. She place one hand on the mirror and looked at herself, for some reason something felt off like this wasn't who she was.

"Lady Kimiko," she turned around to see a man dressed similar to Falan, except his face was hidden from view, appeared at the door and gestured outside, "Please come this way, the Empress is waiting for you," Kimiko hesitated for a moment but then walked through the door and followed the man down the large corridors until they reached what appeared to be the throne room. The man dressed in black pushed the doors open then gestured for her to enter.

Kimiko walked through the doors into a large room that was empty except for one woman who sat in the throne on the other side of the room.

"Kimiko! My darling, I'm glad to see your finally awake again… you had us all worried!" the woman with black hair and wearing a kimono stood up from her throne and walked over to Kimiko pulled her into a hug.

"You're my mother, right?" Kimiko asked as they separated from their hug and the Gyokuen pushed her Kimiko's purple hair out of her eyes and look deep into them, "Yes that's right, I am fully aware of your situation… but there is no need to worry my dear, we will do everything in our power to help those memories return," Gyokuen held he daughters hands, "You can rest easy… there is nothing for you to fear anymore," she smiled as Kimiko nodded her head, still confused about what had happened to her, something didn't add up she just didn't know what it was.

…

A few weeks passed in the imperial palace and Kimiko began to adjust and settle down, the feelings of confusion and distrust with time went away and her life seemed as normal as she could hope.

She and Falan had become quite close over the passed few weeks, however she couldn't seem to shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She was told that she had Brothers and Sisters and she had met a few of them but some were away. Her eldest brother and the first Prince of the Kou Empire, Kouen, was away in a country called Balbadd and lead the forces their. She had never met him since her memories were erased but she had heard many stories about him from her other brothers and sisters and she looked forward to his return in a few more days.

Kimiko also took several lessons in etiquette and other things. Most of her days were spent in doors and she was allowed to venture into the outside world as her mother and the others tasked with taking care of her wanted her to stay were they new she would be safe.

…

"So it seems the girl believes everything we tell her, she still has no recollection of what really happened," Falan reported to Gyokuen.

Gyokuen showed a smile filled with malice, "Good, as long as she continues to behave we can leave things as they are," she took a sip of tea from the cup she was holding.

"However, lately it seems she has become restless and has snuck out of the palace on more then one occasion… she has never gotten very far but if this continues we may need to be more harsh then we have been in the past," Falan commented.

"There's no need for you to worry Falan, she is serving her purpose well, soon enough we will attain our goal," Gyokuen chuckled covering her mouth with the sleeve of her kimono.

**So I know it's been a while but I finally got around to finishing off this chapter. Hope you all like it and don't forget to leave a comment and tell me what you think.**


	3. The Boy From The Streets

Kimiko tiptoed down the long hallways of the imperial Palace. It was about five o'clock in the morning, however Kimiko had grown tired of spending all her days inside the palace and decided that nothing was going to stop her from sneaking outside for the day. On her way out she was nearly caught several times but just managed to slip through unnoticed.

Kimiko could hear the sound of her heart pounding inside her chest as she slipped through the gates and into the outside world for what seemed like the first time in forever. The streets and buildings were masked in shadow with only a very faint light shinning on them as she walked through them quietly. She had seen these streets before from her bedroom window but up close they were completely different. She walked around a corner and placed on the ground a small bag.

She opened it and pulled out a hooded black cloak, throwing it over her shoulders and covering her face she ran around the next corner, "Ow!" she yelled as she was fell backwards but was caught by a figure before she his the ground.

"Are you all right?" a males voice called.

Kimiko looked up at the person who had caught her only to see a young boy that looked to be around her age, he had short black hair and grey eyes and wore a long sleeved black top and pants, most of his face and cloths were covered with dirt and scratches. She blushed when she realized how close the two were and then pushed him back, "I'm fine, I should have been looking were I was going,"

The boy smiled, "It's alright, I was the one who ran into you Miss… um" he tilted his head.

"Kimiko..." she replied,

"Ok, Miss Kimiko…" the boy looked around the streets for a moment, "What's a girl like you doing out on the streets at this time in the morning anyway? It's dangerous out here," he asked with a hint on concern in his voice.

"I could ask the same of you," she pointed at the boy, her face still covered by the hood. There was a long pause that followed this question, Kimiko sighed, "This isn't going anywhere… so, what's your name anyway?" she asked the strange boy.

"Oh me, My name's…" the boy's sentence was interrupted by a shout from a near by guard, "There he is!"

The boy stepped back, "Tch, hey kid if you want to get out of here then follow me," he then grabbed Kimiko's hand and started running.

Together they ran in and out of alleyways trying to dodge all the guards that were now on basically every street.

"Quick in here!" Kimiko yelled at the strange boy then pulled him into an alleyway with a dead end.

"What're you thinking there's nowhere to run now!" there hands parted.

Kimiko lifted the lid off a barrel that sat in the alleyway, "That's why we're gonna hid in here," the boy looked reluctant at first but the sound of footstep encouraged him to jump in the barrel after Kimiko.

Through a small hole in the barrel they could see the guards looking around and hear them murmuring to themselves, eventually then gave up their search and left. The boy jumped out of the barrel first, "Ya know for a bunch of guards they sure aren't the brightest bunch," he placed both hands on his hips with a look of victory on his face.

"Well they probably would have caught you if I hadn't been there to save you," Kimiko jumped out of the barrel and pulled the hood off her head letting her long purple hair blow around behind her, "Why were they after you anyway?" she walked to his side.

The boy once again grabbed Kimiko's hand and pulled her towards a small-forested area on top of a hill. Once they arrived the boy sat down on one of the rocks, "Those guys are always chasing me, my family's real poor so I 'borrow' food and money from them sometimes," he pulled out a small cloth poach.

Kimiko stepped back, "Borrow, don't mean steel…" she sighed, "No wonder they were so angry… by the way I never got your name,"

The boy tied the poach onto his belt and smiled, "I'm Hayato, Hayato Suzuki!" he said proudly, "And you are?"

Kimiko pushed a few strands of hair behind her ears, "I'm Kimiko Ren," this time it was Hayato who stepped back, "Ren? Your part of the imperial family!" his eyes widened in shock, this expression was quickly replaced by one of anger, Kimiko watch as the Rukh around him started to flutter violently, "If that's the chase then go back to the palace and never return, you don't belong here," With this Hayato turn and left leaving Kimiko alone on top of the hill.

The sun had now risen into the sky and Kimiko sat down with her back against the same rock that Hayato had been sitting on with her head hung low, "Why do I feel like I've been treated like this before, rejected by everyone just because I'm different to them," she said to herself.

These thoughts were interrupted when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet, "So this is where you've been," Kimiko looked up at the new comer only to see her 'caretaker', "Falan!" she gasped in surprise.

"I've been looking for you Princess, now come with me," Falan pulled Kimiko towards the palace, "Your brother Prince Kouen has just arrived."

**I finally finished the chapter yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Sorry that it's so short but I hope you enjoyed it none the less. Don't forget to comment down below and tell me what you think so far! **


	4. Mysterious Girl

A girl walked through the streets of the Kou Empire her face covered by a dark hood. At this time of day the streets would normally be packed full of people, but for some reason were completely empty. The girl walked alone the dust on the street blowing around in the wind that had picked up since the boat she arrived on has docked in the harbor.

She could sense that something was wrong, she could sense a dark presence lurking in the shadows here, "Fools" she mumbled under her breath as a group of people dressed in black jumped out at her casting various types of magic in her direction. The girl stayed where she was waiting until the balls of flame and lightning were closer to her then jumped high into the air, all the while remaining completely calm. A light shone from her wrist as a bow appeared, in mid air she aimed her bow and shot each person down one by one. Their forms disappeared, replaced by a small doll, the girl landed back on the ground her bow vanished into thin air.

She walked up to the dolls and crushed them into pieces, a clapping sound came from behind her, "Wow! That was impressive little girl," the girl turned around to see a boy about her age standing there, "What's someone like you doing something so dangerous for anyways?" he asked as he cocked his head to the side.

The girl looked at the ground, "…"

"Oh I get it you're the silent type huh!" he smiled and walked up to her side then bent down and examined the remains of the doll, "You really did a number on these guys," he said in a softer voice before he stood up again, "The name's Hayato Suzuki by the way, what's yours?" he said with a friendly voice.

"… That doesn't matter," she finally spoke in a soft voice as she turned to leave.

"Hey, wait a minute girly, I've given you the honor of knowing my name you could at least tell me yours," he grabbed her wrist.

Immediately the girl spun around pulling his arm behind him and knocking him to the ground. The girl then slammed his head into the ground and placed her weight over the top of him, "I told you, my name is of no importance, and I have no reason to tell you that either,"

Hayato struggled against the girls grip but could not break free, "Get off of me!" he struggled some more.

The girl finally showed some mercy and stood up then began to walk away, this time though Hayato did not try and stop her, he merely picked himself up and watch her walk off, "I sure am meeting some interesting people today," he smiled at the thought then walked off.

…

The girl continued on her way, defeating any who stood in her path. Eventually she arrived at her destination. The Kou Palace. Quickly and quietly she jumped over the fence and ran into the shadows of the palace, "Finally," a small smile appeared on her lips, "I'm coming for you, no matter where they've hidden you, or what they might have done, I will save you," the girl removed her hood letting her green hair flying around behind her, still tied into twin tails as she always had, her green eyes focused on her target, "Esla!"

She couldn't see it but black Rukh fluttered violently around the place, "Hey, long time no see!" a shadow fell from the sky.

**Hey guys so here's the next chapter, sorry that it's so short but I just thought of this and I just had to write it. Remember to comment down below to tell me what you think of the story so far, since this doesn't follow any set story line I'm willing to take on any suggestions from you guys.**

**Just for a bit of fun I've decided to talk give you guys a little more info about the characters, so today's character is none other then Esla.**

**Gender: **Female

**Age: **15

**Height: **160cm

**Family: **Freya (Mother), Sinbad (Father), Lilly (Adoptive Mother), Brad (Adoptive Father), David, Charlie, Ami, Mami (Brothers and Sisters)

**Weapon: **Magic, Type 5 Wind magician

**History: **When Al Thamen tried to kidnap Esla as a baby Sinbad and Freya decided that in order for her to live a proper life they would have to give her up. So they sent her to live with a few close friends of Sinbad's in Tison village where he himself grew up. Esla grew up feeling out of place in Tison village often pointing out how she was different to everyone else. One day she discovers she can use magic and Al Thamen finally locate her. Al Thamen destroy Tison village killing everyone except her, David and Ruri (And a few other children that remain unnamed). When David turns on her it is Yunan that saves and raised her for the next few years until she leaves him and moves to Sindria. She is immediately excepted into Sindria and her life continues still no knowing that she is Sinbad's daughter and thus the Princess of Sindria. On her birthday they hold a Maharajan and she discovers that Ruri is still alive. The two girls reunite and spend some time together, including capturing a Dungeon. After they immerge victorious Esla is forced to fight David but looses, Sinbad who arrives just in time then saves her from death. Some more time passes and Esla starts to feel isolated again, she then breaks down when no one will tell her the truth, she runs away but when the attack on Sindria starts she returns and discovers from Sinbad that she is in fact his daughter. They separate and with Ruri's help she defeats David who is leading the invasion, David is then killed by a member of Al Thamen, Falan, Esla tries to fight her but has no strength left, she receives some help from Aladdin who lets her talk to Freya's Rukh. Esla is then knocked unconscious but Falan and taken captive. Her fate is unknown.


	5. His Name is Ren Kouen

Falan led Kimiko through the palace, she could see that Falan was still annoyed that she had escaped from the palace all night. The only thing that was on her mind right now was Kouen, she still had no memories of her brother and was looking forward to finally meeting him in person.

"Kimiko…" Falan stopped in front of her bedroom door, "Please clean yourself up, I'll come get you when Prince Kouen has finished talking with Empress," she ordered

Kimiko nodded, "Ok," she walked into her room and sat on the edge of her bed, immediately she noticed that there was a clean rob that had been folded and placed on her bed. Kimiko sighed with a frown on her face, "Even though I can finally meet Kouen, why do I feel so sad," she closed her eyes and laid back on her bed.

…

"_Why won't anyone tell me the truth… I have the right to know, what is so wrong with wanting some answers!?" the girl screamed at a figure that stood next to her, "I don't know what you're talking about," his voice sounded muffled but was clearly yelling at the girl in reply, "Lies! All of you are liars! Just tell me the truth! Who am I?" The male figure stood up, "Knowing the truth won't necessarily make you happy."_

…

From outside she could faintly here the sound of metal clashing together, Kimiko opened her eyes slowly, "Another dream about that place," she mumbled under her breath before she sat up and looked at the clock, "Oh no! I can't believe I fell asleep at a time like this!" she exclaimed as she ran into the bathroom to take a bath.

Once she had finished up in the bathroom she quickly changed into her new rob, this one was a light blue colour with pale yellow coloured flowers that decorated it. She tied a matching yellow sash around her waste, which formed a bow at the back, she brushed her hair then threw the doors open and stepped out of her room only to be met by a male figure covered in black, "Princess," he bowed his head in respect, "Falan sent me to escort you, my name is Ithan,"

Kimiko stepped back '_Something's off about this guy… it's the same feeling I've had before around some of the priest and palace staff,_' she thought to herself then let a fake smile take it's place on her face, "Really, it's nice to meet you Ithan…" she paused a moment then continued, "If you don't mind my asking what happened with Falan?" she tilted her head in curiosity.

"I'm afraid some urgent business has come up, she is dealing with _it_ as we speak…" he bowed once more, "I believe you are to be meeting with your brother Prince Kouen this afternoon, please follow me," he gestured down the hall. Kimiko nodded slowly then allowed Ithan to lead her away.

…

Kimiko could still hear the faint sound of metal clashing when she arrived at the door to the library that Prince Kouen spent most of his free time in. Ithan bowed once more, "I'll be waiting out here for you," he opened the doors and Kimiko stepped inside.

The library was bigger then she had expected and every shelf was packed full of antique looking books and scrolls. Kimiko ran her fingers along the spin of one book that looked older then the others and smiled, her heart racing with excitement as a male figure with bright red hair and wearing fine robs came into view, '_Brother!_' her thoughts screamed.

Kouen was flipping through the pages of one of the books that sat on his desk when Kimiko stepped out into view, "Br… Brother Kou… en," she said with a shaky voice as his red eyes met her own.

"Kimiko…" he said in a deep voice, "It's been a long time, I heard what happened from our Mother, how are you?" he asked.

Kimiko relaxed at the sound of her brothers voice and scratched the back of her head, "Me… I'm fine, me memories are still hazy and there are a lot of things I don't remember but I'm getting there," she let her hand drop to her side then walked behind Kouen's desk and looked at the book he was reading. She saw symbols that she assumed must be Torran, "That looks complicated… so you can read Torran?" she asked as Kouen's eyes returned to the page he was on.

"Yes, it's a very difficult language but if you'd like to learn I can teach you," he offered.

"Really!" Kimiko beamed with happiness.

"Yes really," he replied as Kimiko pulled up a chair and sat down next to him.

Kimiko spent all the time she had until dinner learning from Kouen. From what she had heard through rumours Kouen was really scary, '_I guess they all just don't understand him,_' she thought with a smile as Kouen pointed at some symbols and explained their meaning.

Kouen closed the book he was showing to Kimiko, "How was that?" he asked in a deep voice.

Kimiko smiled, "Yeah, it was really interesting," she scratched the back of her head, "It's kind of complicated though," she finished as the doors opened once more and Ithan entered into the room.

"Princess Kimiko, Prince Kouen" he began, "Dinner is served," he bowed to show respect.

Kimiko hadn't realised it had gotten so late and stood up, "Great I'm starving," she said as she followed Ithan out of the library.

…

(Early that day)

Kouen walked through the palace, he had only just arrived back from Balbadd and yet the Empress, his Mother, had already summoned him. He walked through the doors into the throne room and bow his head respectfully, "What is it you wanted to talked to me about?" he asked as he lifted his head to see his mother sitting on the throne with one sleeve concealing a small yet dark smile.

"Yes… while you were gone I adopted a child, she has no memory of her past so I've told her that she is of royal blood. I expect that you will meet her very soon, when you do I ask that you act as though she has been your sister since the day she was born," Gyokuen finished.

Kouen looked shocked, "If that is what you wish," he said in his usual monotone voice. From outside they heard a loud crash, "What was that!?" he questioned to no one in particular.

Gyokuen once again concealed a smile, "It matters not, I've already sent someone to deal with _it_," she replied, Kouen simply bowed once more then left the room and headed for his library where he spent most of his free time.

…

(After Kouen and Kimiko's meeting)

Gyokuen sat on her throne and smiled to herself as Falan entered the room and bowed in front of her, "So I take it that you've finished dealing with the issue outside," she stated with scorn.

"Yes Empress Gyokuen," she replied as another threw the bloodied body of a female onto the floor in front of Falan. The girl was unconscious and blood leaked out of her and onto the floor, "What would you have us do with _it_," she pointed to the body as it began to move.

"I have a name," the girl said in a soft voice, "It's Ruri!" she said with more confidence as she looked at Gyokuen in the eyes, "Now, give Esla back!" she screamed as Falan slammed her head into the ground, "Know your place insect,"

Gyokuen merely laughed and walked down to where Ruri laid on the ground kneeling in front of her, "I don't think your in the position to be making demands like that," she pulled the silver bracelet off of Ruri's wrist, "You won't be needing this anymore," Gyokuen smiled evilly down at Ruri, "Take her to the dungeons below the palace… she can just rot away in the cell for all eternity for all I care,"

Falan nodded in agreement, "As you wish," she then grabbed Ruri by the collar and pulled her away.

"You'll never get away with this…" Ruri spoke once again, "Just wait… King Sinbad won't let you keep Esla locked away here… he'll destroy you all!" she spoke with confidence.

Gyokuen smile once more, "I'm afraid _Esla_ no longer exists,"

…

Kimiko lay awake in bed, the moon was now high in the sky but she couldn't sleep, she couldn't escape the feeling that something was very wrong, "Those weird golden birds won't leave me alone again, all day they've been fluttering around me," she said under her breath as she sat up and held out her hand for one to land on it, "What are you guys?" she said as more of them gathered around her as though they were trying to tell her something.

Kimiko got out of bed and followed them, they led her down a number of hallways and through several doors. For dome reason she hadn't come into contact with any guards, "Are they leading me away from the guards as well?" she wondered out loud.

Finally she arrived in front of a rather old looking, wooden door. She pushed it open to reveal a dark corridor with a set of steps that spiralled downwards, "What am I supposed to do down there?" she asked to herself as more of the birds gathered trying to lead her down the steps.

**I finally finished this chapter! Yay for me! Remember to comment and tell me what you think of the story so far. Look forward to the next chapter.**

**Today's character is Ruri.**

**Gender: **Female

**Age: **15

**Height: **155cm

**Family: **Mother, Father and multiple siblings both older and younger the her, they are all deceased.

**Weapon: **Metal Vessel, Djinn Sallos

**History: **Ruri is a kind young girl the same age as Esla. She became friends with Esla after she saved her from being picked on by some bullies back when the two lived in Tison Village. After the attack on Tison village her entire family was killed and she was forced to flee to Sindria. Years later she reunited with Esla and even captured a Dungeon together with her. Ruri discover that Esla was actually the Princess of Sindria and stopped seeing her for a while but eventually put that aside when Sindria was invaded by Al Thamen and she helped Esla defend the island. Ruri was heart broken when Esla was kidnapped by Al Thamen however she poured all effort into training then went to the Kou Empire in order to get Esla back, however she was defeated by Falan and taken prisoner.


	6. A New Visitor

The strange white birds fluttered around Kimiko, "What's… down there," she started to walked down the steps led by the birds when I large hand grabbed her shoulder, shocked she turned around quickly only to see Ithan standing there, "Princess," he began as he bow his head slightly, "We grew concerned when you weren't in your room… why have you come here?" he question as he pulled Kimiko back up the steps.

"Ithan?..." she paused as she glanced back down the steps and most of the birds disappeared, replaced by black ones, "What's down there?" she asked as she turned to look back at Ithan.

"Nothing of concern… please return to your room and don't wonder around the palace at night again Princess," unwillingly Kimiko was led away from the set of stairs and back to her room.

"Please rest in here for now Princess," Ithan closed the door to Kimiko's room.

Kimiko sat down on the edge of her bed an looked out the window, "Something's wrong…" she placed a hand over her heart, "Everything is… wrong… is this really where I'm meant to be?" she questioned as the white birds started to flutter violently around her once more and a figure appeared in the window.

…

"What!" Falan shouted at Ithan, "She nearly found Ruri!"

"Yes," Ithan replied in his normal calm tone of voice, "You need to keep a sharper eye on that girl Falan, we've managed to suppress her memories for the time being but if she sees her again then those memories might resurface…" Ithan paused for a moment, "From what I've heard she's already snuck out of the palace… you really need to pay more attention, otherwise our plans will be ruined!" he sound more serious.

Falan calmed herself down a little, "I'm aware of that…" she looked towards Ithan when the Rukh started to flutter violently around then place, "What's this!" she shouted in surprise.

…

"Esla, it took me a long time but, I finally managed to follow your Rukh here," a man's voice called, muffled by the glass of the window, the window swung opened and a man with long blonde hair and pale blue eyes, wearing green and magicians hat jumped into the room through the opening.

Kimiko stepped backwards, "Who… are… you?" she backed up some more until she hit the wall of the room behind her, "Who are you!?" she said in a more demanding and serious tone of voice a hint of fear chiming within it.

The man that had jumped through the window sighed, "Come one Esla, you know who I am," he said in a calm voice and held his hand out.

Kimiko let her body drop to the floor and clutched her head with both hands, tears stinging the corner of her eyes, "Stop calling me that! My name is Kimiko!" she shouted as images that she couldn't quite make out flashed through her mind in a massive blur.

The man let his hand fall to his side and walked up close to her, kneling down at her side, "Esla, don't worry…" he closed his eyes and seemed to be living the past over again, "I made a promise to _her_… I swore that I wouldn't break that promise, no matter what," he brought his hand up and stroked her brilliant purple hair, "Everything will be ok now," his voice sounded soothing.

Kimiko slapped his hand away and pushed herself closer to the wall, "Get away form me, I don't know what your talking about!" she shouted as she went back to clutching her head, '_My head! It feels like it's about to split in two!_' her thoughts screamed at her and her body started trembling uncontrollably.

But the man didn't leave or even stop what he was doing, instead he put his arms around the small girl and brought Kimiko into a hug, "No… I won't leave you, I told Freya that I would always be there to protect you when you needed it…" he paused for a moment, "I don't know exactly what Al Thamen have done to you but, I'll awaken those memories that they've tampered with,"

The tears that Kimiko had been trying to hold back began to fall down her cheeks, '_What is this, why am I crying… I have no idea who this guy is but… why do I feel so safe around him?!_' her head began to pound even more as she heard footsteps coming closer from down the hall.

The man stepped back now and lifted Kimiko's chin so that she was looking into his eyes, "You know who I am… say my name, Esla,"

Kimiko slapped his hand away once more, "I told you to stop calling me that!" she stood up and lent against the wall still looking at the man, "I am Ren Kimiko! A princess of the Kou Empire!" she stated.

The man's eyes narrowed in sorrow, "Nothing they've told you is true Esla, please come back to Sindria with me,"

Kimiko's hands formed into fists and trembled, "Why…" she said softly, "Why do you look so familiar to me!" she reached her hand out as though she was going to grab something in front of her.

"My name, Esla… say my name!" there was a sense of urgency in his voice, his blue eyes filled with determination as the sound of footsteps drew closer and closer.

"Yu…" she began, "Yu… Yun… Yun…"

The doors to the room were thrown open as Falan stepped in, "Kimiko! Don't listen to him!" she shouted with her hand out reaching for her.

"Yunan…"

**Hey guys, sorry this is such a short chapter but I kind of just needed to update it since it's been a while since the last one went up. Anyways I hope you enjoyed it. Remember to comment and tell me what you think of the story so far.**

**Today's character is Yunan. However since there's an actual website that gives you info about him I'll just put a link in instead:**

** wiki/Yunan**


	7. Awakening

Images flashed through Kimiko's mind, as time seemed to stand still. Was all of this just a lie? Nothing but a fabricated reality that Al Thamen had created in order to keep her prisoner here? As the images of her past raced through her head she remembered that night, the night she had been taken from her home.

…

"_Argh!" The purple haired princess cried in pain as her body flopped onto the ground, unconscious and unmoving. The two Generals, Drakon and Spartos, ran forward to help her but they were all blown away by a miniature tornado created at the hands of Falan._

"_Now then Princess, please come with me quietly," Falan's eyes narrowed as she walked closer to the unconscious body of the princess picking her up and holding her under her arm._

"_I wonder what you'll do… Great King Sinbad," she said as she disappeared off the island._

…

_Once Falan had arrived back at the Kou Empire she headed straight to the dungeons and threw the girl into the dark, damp room making her wake from her slumber._

_In a daze the girl lifted her head and looked at Falan when she noticed that she was holding her staff, "Where am I!" she shouted as she clumsily pulled herself to her feet, an intense pain shot up her legs as she tried to walk forward, blood still over flowing from her wounds, "Why did you take me! Where is Ruri!" she screamed, demanding an answer._

_Falan smiled, "You'll never see that place again..." she paused for a moment, "There really isn't much you can do to stop us so I might as well tell you… we will erase your memories, and make you our own… Princess Esla," she bowed her head in a taunting manner._

_Esla's eyes widened in shock, "Why…" she said in a soft voice, "Why are you doing all this!" she shouted thinking only of her father, Sinbad, she had lost one family and she didn't want to loose another, "Tell me!"_

_Falan raised the staff that once belonged to Esla in the air as more members of Al Thamen walked into the room, "We will use you, to create the ultimate dark metal vessel user in history," she let out an evil laugh, "He will fall from grace and aid us in our goals!"_

_Esla dropped to the floor once more, her legs on either side of her, 'No! It can't be… I thought that I'd changed but… I'm still just a tool for them to use!' her thoughts screamed at her._

_The members of Al Thamen that had entered the room began to stand in a circle around he, trapping her inside, "Say good-bye to your old memories Princess," A newcomer taunted._

_Falan turned around to see the Empress standing there, "Empress Gyokuen," she stated as the blacked haired women walked closer to the circle of now chanting Al Thamen members, "I guess you're going to need a new name now," she said using her sleeves to cover her mouth, "… I know, how about Kimiko? It means 'noble child', the perfect name for you…" she paused once more, "Yes, from this day on you'll be my daughter, I'll need to come up with some excuse for Kouen and the others but I'm sure it'll all work out… Now then Ren Kimiko, embrace your new life!" she said as a magic circle appeared beneath Esla's person._

_Esla looked around in a panic, "What is this?" the black Rukh fluttered around the small dungeon as Esla thought back on her life, the memories that she cherished disappearing one after the other, "No," she clutched her head with tears streaming down her cheeks, "No! PLEASE DON'T TAKE THEM AWAY FROM ME!" she let out one final scream before her body once again flopped to the floor, the memories of her days in Tison Village and Sindria, no more._

…

"My name, Esla… say my name!" there was a sense of urgency in his voice, his blue eyes filled with determination as the sound of footsteps drew closer and closer.

"Yu…" she began, "Yu… Yun… Yun…"

The doors to the room were thrown open as Falan stepped in, "Kimiko! Don't listen to him!" she shouted with her hand out reaching for her.

"Yunan…"

Esla quickly jumped to her feet and run behind Falan, "Falan help me…" she pointed at Yunan, "This man just broke into my room," she let the tears that had appeared upon remembering her past show her so called 'fear' of Yunan.

'_Does she really not remember a thing?_' Falan thought to herself as she looked at the purpled hair girl in confusion.

Esla watched as Yunan's expression turned from determination to horror. Esla hugged Falan tightly around the waist, "Please Falan," she closed her eyes, all the while still crying, "Help me," she pleaded.

But Yunan was the first to act he quickly jumped back out the window and disappeared, his voice fading away, "Esla, I will save you!"

…

Esla sat on her bed looking at the floor as Falan watched her with concern, "You've been very quiet lately Kimiko, is something wrong?" she asked.

Esla closed her eyes, '_Kimiko… that was the name they gave to me, in order to make this reality more real,_' Esla climbed under the covers of her bed until she was just a lump, "Falan… who was that man?" she asked.

Falan sat down next to her, "That's not important…" she paused momentarily, "What did he say to you?" she asked with curiosity.

Esla hugged her legs to her chest under the covers, "I wasn't really listening to him…" she replied in a soft voice, '_I can't let her know that my memories have returned, I need to figure out how to escape from here on my own, with my own power!_' her thoughts raged.

Falan's eyes narrowed, not fully believing this story, "Well, I guess there's not much else that can be done tonight… get some sleep Kimiko," she finished before leaving the room.

Tears once again started rolling down her cheeks, '_Dad… please come don't come here!_' she begged in her thoughts as the white Rukh started fluttering once again. Esla sat up in her bed and watch them flutter around, they were trying to tell her something. As she watched the golden birds dance around the air she remembered, what they had been trying to show her the other night, "Now that my memories have returned I can sense _her_ Rukh," she said in a soft voice, her eyes widening in shock, "Why… why is Ruri here?!"

**Another chapter finished, sorry it took so long I've been going flat out lately and haven't really had time to write it. Hope you enjoyed the chapter anyway, remember to comment down below and tell me your thoughts XD.**


	8. Lifting the Haze

(Kou Empires Imperial Palace)

Esla snuck from her room, it had been a few hours since Yunan had escaped through the window, she waited this long so that all the guards had a chance to calm down and relax a little, making it easy for her to sneak from her room once more, '_Ruri… why did you come here?_' she thought to herself as she reached the same staircase that she had found during the earlier part of the night.

She pushed open the door and slowly began her decent to the bottom, '_It's so dark down here… but if I use magic Falan will surly discover that I've left my room once more,_' Esla touched her hand to the brick wall and used it as a guide while she continued walking down the set of stairs.

…

(Sindria's Royal Palace)

"She's what!" Sinbad shot up from the comfort of his bed and yelled as Jafar broke the news to him at last.

"Yes, I'm afraid Ruri has gone off to find Esla on her own," he stated once more.

Sinbad balled his hands into fists, "What was she thinking!?" he exclaimed as very muscle in his body tensed.

From where he was standing Jafar could see the dark circles under the Kings eyes, he hadn't been sleeping properly ever since he discovered Esla had been kidnapped. There was no denying that ever since that day Sinbad's health had been progressively growing worse, "I don't think there's any reason for us to worry… Ruri is more then capable of protecting herself, after all she has spent the last few months training to perfect her Djinn Equip skills," Jafar stated calmly, "Please just get some rest Sin… let us deal with this,"

Sinbad grunted in frustration, "I couldn't protect her… there's still so much I haven't told her yet… but… fine, leave and let me rest for now Jafar," he finished before laying back down in his bed.

Jafar sighed with relief as he left the Sindrian King to sleep and recover.

…

(The Slums of the Kou Empire)

Hayato kicked some rubbish out from under his foot as he sat down on a barrel in the ally way that he would call home for the next while. Slowly his eyes moved from the dirty surroundings that he was forced to live in, to where to palace stood. No matter where you were in the city you always had a clear view of its grand design. His mind thought back to the girl Kimiko that he had met a while back, she was a noble by birth and part of the family that ruin his life. Because of the Emperor who had past away some years ago, his Mother, Father, Brothers and Sisters were all forced out of their humble little home and eventually murdered in cold blood. Just thinking about that horrific day made his stomach churn. However there was something about her that just didn't add up. She didn't look even remotely like the other members of royalty that he had seen in the distance before, "There might be more to this girl then meets the eye…" Hayato said as he lent back against the wall and closed his eyes, slowly he began to fall into a deep slumber, "There are two many things happening these days… First Kimiko, then that other girl that went and broke into the palace…" he let out a small laugh, "Looks like something big is about to happen… I wonder what it'll be," his last words before falling into a deep slumber.

…

(Kou Empires Imperial Palace)

Falan lent back in the rather comfortable chair she was now sitting in, "Just before the girl ran to my side for aid I saw her say something quietly to herself… but surely if she had regained her memories she would have left with the Wondering Magi, Yunan, right then and there," Falan closed her eyes, '_I need to determine very soon if her memories have returned or not… if they have then everything we've done so far will have been for nothing,_' she thought to herself.

…

(Dungeon beneath the Imperial Palace)

Esla stepped off the last step, before her was a large wooden door. Carefully she placed her right hand onto it but was struck with a small blast of lightning, "It's been sealed with magic," Esla bit her lip, '_I can sense her… Ruri is behind this door! I need to break through… but how?!_' Esla clenched her fists, "My full power has not returned just yet… if I do this carelessly then Al Thamen will realize what I'm up to and alter my memories once more," Esla closed her eyes, searching for a way that she could enter the dungeon, '_My mother, Freya, gave me her powers back when Sindria was being invaded by AL Thamen… there must have been more of a reason for it, but what is it! Why did she give me her power?_' Esla opened her eyes, "Huh!" she gasped, "Back when I lived with Yunan in the Great Rift, he mentioned something about a woman he had met in the past,"

…

(Sindria's Royal Palace)

"Esla… I'm sorry, there's still something that I haven't told you about your past yet," Sinbad shut his eyes tight, the events of _that_ day flashing through his mind, "I've lied to you once more, I haven't told you about the _other_, but… Esla… please stay safe until I come for you," Sinbad whispered to himself underneath the covers, "You have Freya's powers now, you should be able to overcome any challenge that you're faced with… you just need to unlock that power fully."

**Hello all, sorry that it's been a while since I last updated this story but I've been swamped with schoolwork. Anyhoo I hope you all liked the chapter and feel free to comment down below with any requests or advise. Just to build a little more suspense, if there's anyone who was curious as to why Sinbad did not go with Freya the day she left Esla with Lilly and Brad, then you're going to find out very soon.**

**Today's character is Hayato:**

**Gender: **Male

**Age: **16

**Height: **170cm

**Family: **Mother, Father and multiple siblings both older and younger then him, they are all deceased.

**Weapon: **Hayato has trained his body very well due to the work that he has had to perform in order to stay alive while living on the streets and thus is stronger then most people his age.

**History: **At a young age Hayato Suzuki's entire family was murdered by the Royal family of the Kou Empire, because of this he harbors a deep hatred and grudge towards them. This hatred has become his drive to continue on living and one day hopefully exact revenge for the death of his family. At the age of 16 he met Kimiko (Esla) and Ruri, however it is unknown what role he will play in the girls futures.


	9. Freya's Power

Esla let her fingers run over the smooth golden hear shaped locket that Sinbad had given to her and closed her eyes, '_What did Yunan tell me back then?... think Esla, THINK!_' Esla opened her eyes once more, "I remember now… Yunan might have somehow known I would need this knowledge one day, so he told me all those years ago,"

…

_(Seven years ago)_

_Esla placed her tiny hands around the cup of tea that was sitting in front of her and brought it up to her mouth to take a sip. Only a few months had passed since the destruction of Tison Village, the tragic events of that day still fresh in her mind and tormenting her every waking moment. Esla set the cup back down onto the wooden table and looked around the room. Yunan had gone out for a while to collect some firewood and had not yet returned, leaving the small five year old alone in the darkness of the Great Rift._

_She stood up and walked over to the window, peering out all she could see was black. The Rukh began to increase in number and flutter around the place as she saw Yunan's figure getting closer to the small house. Esla's face lit up with joy, "Yunan!" she shouted as she ran out of the hut to greet the Magi with a hug._

_Yunan smiled tenderly, "Is everything ok Esla?" he asked as the two walked back into the house._

"_Yeah… I can take car of myself!" she pouted before jumping up onto the bed as Yunan placed the wood he had gathered onto the floor, next to the small fire that lit the house up and kept it warm._

"_That's good to hear," Yunan chuckled a little before sitting down at the table and letting out a tired sigh._

_There was a short silence that filled the room before Esla climber off the bed and onto Yunan's lap, looking up at him with her innocent golden eyes, "Yunan," she began with hesitation._

_Yunan tilted his head in curiosity, "What is it Esla?" he asked._

"_I was just wondering…"_

"_Hmmm?"_

"_Why did you save me that day?" she finished her question._

_Yunan was a little surprised at this sudden development, "Well… a long time ago, I made a promise to someone…"_

_Esla's eyes grew wider with curiosity, "Who was this person?" she asked._

_Yunan smiled and ran his fingers through Esla's soft purple hair, "She was an incredible Magician with some amazing powers, the likes of which even I had never seen before…" he paused for a moment, "When she left this world I promised her something very important and looking after you like this may just full fill that promise,"_

_Esla blinked in a curious manner, "Why me?" she asked._

_Yunan looked into the little girls eyes before he picked her up and place her back onto the bed, "That doesn't matter right now… it's time you went to bed," he pulled the blankets over her body and went to leave but was stopped when a small hand grabbed hold of his sleeve._

"_Tell me more about this person… what powers did she have?"_

_Yunan sat down on the edge of her bed, "Ok, but you have to go to sleep once this is over all right,"_

_Esla nodded sleepily, "Right,"_

_Yunan took a deep breath, "Do you remember what I told you about the Rukh? How everything in this world possesses it, and how the Magicians use their Rukh in order to create magic?"_

"_Yes…" she replied._

"_Well this person found a way to hide her Rukh… and so to other Magicians who can see the Rukh she looked like an ordinary person. This let her use magic without letting her enemies know what she was doing, using this power she won many battles for her country with the help of another…" Yunan looked down at Esla, "She developed many techniques in her time… I'm sure if you train hard everyday, you can become just like her," he smiled weakly._

_Esla smiled as well, "Really… you… think I… can… do that?" she said as her breathing became heavier and she drifted off to sleep. The last thing she could see was a small drop of water, fall from Yunan's eyes._

…

(The Great Rift)

Yunan sighed, "Esla… you are an incredibly difficult person to look after you know," Yunan stepped out of the small house he had created, "You will undoubtedly be able to master Freya's power, I've already taught you everything you need to know during the seven years you stayed here…" Yunan began to float up to the surface where the silver light from the moon shone down onto the earth, "I should be going, it looks like everything will be ending soon."

…

(Dungeon beneath Kou's Imperial Palace)

Esla focused her energy, "I can do this… I need to hide my Rukh from everyone, then I can open this door," she placed her hand onto the door as lightning began to ripple throughout the long corridor, "Open Sesame!" she shouted as the lightning intensified and the door swung open.

Esla let her hand fall to her side as she ran into the room, bringing the shocked figure who sat in the corner into a hug, "Ruri!" Esla cried as she squeeze her tightly.

"Esla," Ruri said in a soft voice, "Esla, it's really you right!" she louder as she put her arms around the Sindrian Princess, "I'm so glad you're ok."

The two girls pulled apart, "Ruri, we need to leave this place now," Esla said with a sense of urgency, "Even though I concealed my presence from Al Thamen, it won't take them long to notice I've left my room… we need to go now!" Esla stood up from where she was sitting.

Ruri nodded, "Yes, the ship I used to get here will still be in the harbor… if we can get to it then we should be able to return to Sindria," Ruri added as Esla helped her up, breaking the shackles that held her in place with magic, "First I need to get my Metal Vessel back,"

A small smile appeared on Esla's lips, "Don't worry about that," from the fold in her Kimono she produced the silver bracelet that she had given to Ruri when they had conquered the 19th Dungeon, Sallos together.

Ruri's eyes widened, "When did you get that?!"

"Falan was carrying it around with her, so I stole it the first chance I got," Esla chuckled before handing the bracelet over to her.

"Lets go," Ruri said with determination clear in her eyes.

**Hello everyone… sorry that its been so long since I last updated but I've been preoccupied with family issues recently.**

**I hope you all liked the chapter, and remember to leave a comment with your thoughts and suggestions. Chapter was pretty much completely improvised so if you were wondering why it may not be as good as previous chapters, that's the reason.**


	10. Side Chapter - In the Beginning

(10 Years before the invasion of Sindria)

Sinbad stepped off the ship and onto the land where he was born, Tison Village was a short walk from the port, Sinbad remembered the many times he had travelled between here and his home in Tison village.

"Sin," Jafar called from behind, "We won't have much time here so try to be quick alright," Jafar threw him a cloak to conceal his identity.

Sinbad nodded as he placed to cloak around his shoulders and the hood on his head, which hid his face from prying eyes, "I know, I'll be back in a few hours," he said as he turned and wave good bye.

…

A short time pasted and already Sinbad could see Tison Village coming into view. By now the sun was high into the sky and the sounds of happy children play games and running around echoed throughout the village.

Sinbad took a deep breath, "It's been such a long time since I last cam back here," he closed his eyes as childhood memories flowed into his mind, "How nostalgic," he opened his eyes and stepped over the threshold into the village, making his way to the house his friends and daughter now live.

From where he was Sinbad could see a woman out the front of the house as she picked up a bucket full of water, Sinbad smiled, "Lilly!" he called as Lilly lifter her head and waved at her childhood friend, "Sin, she said in an excited voice as she dropped the bucket and run over to him, pulling him into a hug.

"It's been a long time Sin," a masculine voice interrupted as Lilly released Sinbad from her grip.

"Brad…" Sinbad acknowledge his friend.

Brad gestured towards the front door, "What are you waiting for, come inside," he said as the trio walked into the house.

…

Sinbad smiled wearily, "So, how is she?" he ask trying to cover the pain that this subject caused him.

Brad and Lilly looked to the floor an awkward silence hanging in the air, "She such a good girl, she has your adventurous spirit…" she paused, breaking the silence, "And Freya's kindness," she said in a tender and saddened voice.

Sinbad took a deep breath, "I'm glad to hear she hasn't been to much of a handful unlike…" he paused mid sentence.

Brad smiled, "Cheer up Sin, she's been dong just fine, at first she had trouble making friends but she had Ruri now…" he paused, "But… it seems that she's started to notice the differences between us, I think it's only a matter of time now, before she discovers she can use magic,"

"Al Thamen…" Sinbad said, his voice full of hatred, "I seems that they've been snooping around here, I don't think that they've discovered her yet but just in case I've asked Yunan to be on the look out," he finished as the sound of footsteps came rushing through the door, "I'm back!" a cheerful voice shouted

(Sinbad's P.O.V)

Big golden eyes, perfect purple hair, she was the spitting image of me, '_Esla!_' my thought's screamed at me, '_It's really Esla! She's grown so much in these five long years,_'

"Esla, it's not polite to stare at people," I heard Lilly say

"Huh" Esla looked away from me, '_No Esla, I don't have much time left here please, look at me!_' I began to tremble with emotion, '_No, don't let her see you like this,_'

"This is the guest I was telling you about last night, his name is…" I cut Lilly off mid sentence, "It's alright Lilly, let me introduce myself," She nodded a hint of sadness in her eyes as she looked at me, '_Lilly could always see straight threw me, even when we were kids she knew when I was upset,_' I took a deep breath to calm myself down and smiled "My name is Sinbad, the King of the Island country Sindria."

(End P.O.V)

Sinbad continued to smile at the tiny five year old, crouching down to her size he placed his right hand gently on her head, stroking it, "So your Esla huh… I've heard so much about you," Sinbad felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest, '_Esla, Esla, Esla,_' his mind wouldn't stop remembering the first time he had held her when she was just a baby.

"Esla I have to talk with King Sinbad alone for a moment, so head outside and help your sisters collect some fruit and vegetables," Brad interrupted as Esla simply nodded and obeyed her 'Father'.

As his daughter left the room Sinbad collapsed back into his chair, "Esla…" he said as his voice shook with emotion.

…

As the day continued Lilly and Brad explain everything that had happened so far in Esla's life, everything that Sinbad had missed, all the happy times and hard times, her first words, when she learnt to walk, everything and anything that Sinbad wanted to know they told him.

Sinbad sighed with relief, "Thank you," he said, "This has put my mind at ease," he closed his mind and imagined Esla's happy face.

"So," Lilly began, "What about _him_?" she asked.

Sinbad lent back in his chair, "I've just come from there… he's doing well, a bit of a trouble maker but other wise ok," he smiled think about _him_, "One day I'm sure they'll meet, I just hope that they'll get along,"

"_He_ lives in Reim right?" Brad asked in curiosity.

Sinbad nodded, "Yes, with Bahir and Hafa," he remember the day Esla was born, "It seems like just yesterday that they were just babies, Esla and her…"

…

(10 Years later, Reim Empire)

"Are you ready yet?" Latif, the 18-year-old boy, asked the slightly younger boy that stood before him.

The boy turned to face Latif and sighed in frustration, "Yeah, yeah I'm coming…"

**IMPORTANT NOTICE:**

**Hello everyone, I'm so sorry that its been so long since I last updated this story, I've been swamped with so much work and unfortunately it has to come first. Sorry if you were hoping for an actual chapter and not a side one but I thought I should just get something done to let you know that I'm not dead. I case you haven't read my other story, Before, Latif is Freya's youngest brother and sibling, also Hafa and ****Bahir are her parents (****hint, hint).**

**Anyway I've been struggling with this for sometime now and I just can't make up my mind, so instead I'm going to let you awesome readers choose. At the moment I have a number of different ways that I can end this story, so here's my question, do you want this story to have a happy ending or a sad ending? Just leave a comment down below to vote for how you want things to conclude.**


	11. Fleeing the Kou Empire

"Asfal Riif!" Esla shouted as she shot a tornado of air at their attackers. She had nearly exhausted her supply of Magio at this point, Ruri was using her Djinn equip to help but, much like Esla, she was running out of Magio to use. Esla grabbed Ruri's arm and pulled her forward, running at full speed through the opening she had made with her last attack.

A loud crash of thunder sounded nearby as the rain pelted the two friends, Al Thamen were hot on their tail and they were running out of options, "Ruri, we have to hurry!" Esla looked back and shouted as yet another bolt lighting struck the ground in front of them.

Ruri legs were going numb from the amount of running they had done since escaping the Palace. All that kept her going was the thought of returning to Sindria, their home, '_How did things end up like this!?_' Ruri thought back to the previous day.

…

"_Lets go," Ruri said with determination clear in her eyes._

_Esla nodded her head in agreement as the two made their way back up the long, dark staircase. As they reached the top Esla peered around the corner, noting that there was no one in sight she signaled Ruri to follow behind her and swiftly made their way back to Esla's room._

_Esla quietly closed the door as they entered the grand room she had lived in for the past few months, walking across the room she flung the window open as a cold wind flowed into the empty room. Esla looked at the floor where only darkness awaited them, "We need to jump out of here," she whispered, there was still a shard of fear in her heart that someone might catch them, "You wont be able to use Sallos without altering Al Thamen to us, so hold onto me," she extended her hand, "I'll fly us to the ground,"_

"_Won't they be able to sense a disturbance in the Rukh?" Ruri questioned._

"_No," Esla replied in a reassuring voice, "I've recently learnt a little trick," she said more sarcastically._

"_Kimiko?" a masculine voice echoed from the doorway._

…

Esla lent back against the cold cave wall panting for breath, she shivered violently, "I think we've lost them for now," the pounding of rain on stone was all that could be heard as Ruri flopped to the floor.

"Yeah," she paused for breath, "We should be near the border now right?" Ruri looked to Esla, the glimmer of hope fading in her eyes.

"Yes," Esla took a deep breath as she tore the bottom of her kimono off and wrapped it around the wound she had received earlier. Dark red blood began to seep from the wound and stain the fabric red as she grunted in pain, clutching her torso, "Soon enough we'll be back in Sindria…" enduring great pain she picked herself up and walked to the entrance, cupping her hands she collected some of the rain to drink, "This is not how I wanted things to turn out," she whispered to herself as she gulped the water down.

…

"_Huh!" Esla exclaimed turned around, the shard of fear sparking to life, 'Don't tell me they've already found us!' Darkness engulfed every corner of the room, the only thing she could make out was a masculine figure standing in the doorway, "Kouen?" Asked confused, "… What are you doing here?" she said stepping backwards closer to the window._

"_Kimiko, who is that?" Kouen pointed towards Ruri as his eyes narrowed._

_Esla pushed Ruri behind her, "Why are you hear?…" she hesitated for a moment, "Brother," now that her memories had returned sincerity was hard to imitate._

_Kouen stepped forward, "I heard from Falan that someone had broken into your room… I know it's been hard for you these past few months so I thought I would come and see if you were all right," he said in his usual calm tone of voice, "Now answer my question, Kimiko… who, is, that!?" his demanding voice sent shivers up Esla's spine._

_Esla bit her lip and glanced at Ruri out of the corner of her eye, 'What should I do? Should I just tell him the truth or…'_

…

Esla sank to the freezing floor of the cave, hugging her legs to her chest for any warmth she might muster.

"What's wrong Esla?" Ruri asked as she huddled closer to the Sindrian Princess, her green hair slowly dripping water from the tips, the rain still bombarding the outside of the cave.

"… I was just thinking…" She answered in a depressed tone, "I've caused you all so much trouble…" her heart ached as she remember the day Falan had taken her from Sindria, her long purple hair dripping water on the floor. Esla snapped out of her daze and grabbed Ruri by the shoulders, "Is Sindria ok!? What happened after I left!?... is my Dad alright?" she frantically shouted as it dawned on her that she didn't actually know the outcome of the war.

Ruri nodded, "Yes, after you were taken King Sinbad and the Eight Generals took care of everything…" she paused with a bleak look on her face, "Had it not been for Aladdin and his friends, many more people would have died,"

Esla released her grip and looked to the floor, "Why did this happen?" she questioned in a whisper, the face of her father began to drifting through her mind, "Dad," she whispered.

…

'_Think Esla, Think,' the purple hair princess looked desperately around the room for anything that might help them now. A small branch protruding from one of the many plants in the room caught her eye, she took a deep breath as she began to edge closer to it._

"_My, my, what ever is going on here?" a deriding voice called from the darkened doorway._

'_Falan!' Esla's thoughts screamed, 'This is bad, this is really, really bad! We need to leave now!'_

"_Kimiko, why on earth are you with that," Falan sneered as she pointed towards Ruri, "Be a good little girl now and go back to your cell… Ruri,"_

_Falan's taunting words made Ruri step back in fear, clutching her Metal Vessel tightly, "You witch!" she said with less confidence then she had before._

_Esla balled her hands into fists as she quivered with rage, "Don't call me that," she said as she bit her lip, getting closer and closer to the plant._

"_Hmm?" Kouen raised his eyebrow in curiosity, Falan merely smirking at the young girl with derision._

"_That's not my name," she said a little louder._

"_Oh dear," Falan sighed, "It seems your memories did return. That meddling fool," she snorted in contempt pulling out a small staff that was previously concealed inside her black robs._

_Gabbing the branch off of the plant Esla pointed towards Falan, "My name, is ESLA!" she shouted as a large bolt of lightning hurtled towards them._

_Falan shrugged, "How pathetic," flicked her wrist and the bolt of deflected away from them, "You can't possibly think that your magic is on par with mine, you lack experience," she looked to Kouen, "My Prince please leave this to me," the sound of footsteps echoed down the long corridors, 'This is perfect, now that little brat will have no other choice then to give up, then I'll be able to erase her memories again,' Falan thought as she created a large spear of ice and threw it at the two girls._

_Esla pushed Ruri out of the way, "Watch out!" she shouted as the spear pierced her torso. Blood splattered across the room as Esla reached for Ruri and pushed her out the window._

_As the two dropped to the ground Ruri grabbed hold of Esla, "Dwell in my body, Sallos!" she yelled as her appearance changed and she flew them both to a safe distance._

…

Esla opened her eyes as a bright light shone through the mouth of the cave, she slowly pushed herself upright as her body ached with every movement, "It's at times like this I wish I had learned healing magic from Yunan," Esla looked around the cave to see Ruri laying next to her snoring softly, "I guess we feel asleep…" she rubbed her eyes, her cheeks a bright shade of red.

A small rustle came from the bushes that surrounded the cave, Esla gabbed the stick she had been using as a staff and woke Ruri, "Huh?" Ruri shot up from her slumber, she was shivering uncontrollably, "What's the…" she was cut off mid sentence as another rustle came from the forest.

"I think they've found us," Esla whispered as she quietly made her way to the entrance and knelt down behind a large, moist boulder which blocked her from view.

Ruri knelt down behind her A cloaked figure stepped out from behind a tree and began walking towards the cave.

Esla gritted her teeth as she clutched her 'staff' and jumped out at the figure, "Asfal Rii…" Esla stopped mid sentence as the hood on the figures cloak fell off of his head revealing his face. Esla's eyes widened in horror as it dawned on her who she was about to attack, "Hayato?!"

**So here's the next chapter finally. School has just started again so I probably won't have much time to write, but hey, miracles do happen. Look forward to the next chapter as Ruri and Esla continue to flee the Kou Empire.**

**It's great to see that some of you have already voted for the ending you would like to see (happy or sad), voting is still open so feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you want.**

**Have a great day!**


	12. Dreams of a Better Life

"Hayato?!" Esla quickly diverted her attack so that it hit a near by tree instead.

The young boy jumped backwards in surprise, "Kimiko?" he shouted in a confused tone.

Esla fell to her knees panting widely, "Hayato… why are you here," she clutched her wound, trying to stand up.

"I could ask you that," he said in contempt, remembering the last time they had encountered each other, "Shouldn't you be in the Palace demanding that lowlife's like me do your biding?" he mocked

Ruri ran up beside Esla, "Esla what happe… Hayato?!" she recognized the boy from when she had went to rescue Esla.

"Hey, your that girl from the other day," he pointed at the green haired girl in front of him, "That's right, you wouldn't tell me your name no matter how many times I asked," he remembered the pain of being thrown to the ground by her.

"So you… know… Hayato as well… Ruri?" Esla questioned as she leant one hand against a tree to hold herself upright, still panting for air.

Ruri nodded, "Kind of… I met him on my way to save you," she blushed, "Even though you were the one who ended up saving me,"

"Ruri," Hayato mumbled to himself, "So your name is Ruri?" he asked and looked at Esla with scorn, "Why are you hanging out with the Imperial Princess over there," he said smugly.

"You've… got it wrong Hayato… I'm not… I'm not a member of Kou's Imperial family…" she paused here and there as she panted for breath, "My real name is Esla… and I'm the Princess of Sindria," she said with pride.

"Princess of… Sindria?" Hayato tilted his head in confusion.

"Well… you see," Esla began.

…

Esla explained everything to Hayato, right from when she was a child in Tison Village, up until the day when Al Thamen invaded Sindria and she was taken from her home.

"What does any of that matter!" Hayato barked, "You're still Royalty, all you ever do is look down on people," he clenched his fists.

"No Hayato, Esla isn't like that," Ruri defended her friend.

"Please… Hayato you… have to help… us…" Esla was sweating as her cheeks were tinted a bright shade of red, "Al Thamen… coming… for…" Esla was unable to finish her sentence as she felt her body become heavy. Swaying from side to side, she tried to hold herself upright with the tree but it was no use, she collapsed to the ground, making a heavy thud against the twig and leaf littered ground.

"Esla!" Ruri shouted, "What's wrong," she knelt down beside her childhood friend.

"Is she ok?" Hayato stepped forward with somewhat concern hidden in his voice.

…

_The figure that stood before Esla was shrouded in darkness, she couldn't make out their features but she knew it was a young boy, for some reason Esla couldn't shake the feeling that she had met this boy before, a distant memory swirled through her mind. She held out her hands in front of her, "What is this?" her hands were tiny, close by there was a small pond, she walked over and look into it, to her shock she fond that she had the body of a child of five once again. Looking around Esla realized that she was back in Sindria, this place was the gardens out the front of the palace._

"_Esla," the voice seemed to echo around the forest that surrounded her, "Why don't you go play with him," a large male with long purple hair much like her own knelt down in front her._

"_Daddy!" her eyes lit up with joy._

"_Go on, Esla, go have some fun," a women came from behind and gently began to stroked her soft purple hair._

_Tears streamed down Elsa's checks, "Mummy!" she cried._

"_What's wrong Esla?" Freya hugged her precious child close to her heart._

"_I had… a… really bad… dream…" she said betweens weeps, "You were gone, and someone took me away from Daddy," she blurted the words out._

_**Oh, how sad**_

_An unknown voice echoed throughout the gardens._

"_Don't worry Esla… it was just a dream," Freya reassured her as she wiped the tears from Esla's eyes._

"_That's right Esla, everything's ok now," Sinbad smiled._

_The five-year-old boy walked closer to them and held out his hand, he said something but his voice was muffled._

"_Go on Esla, have a good time," Freya pushed the five year old towards the boy as they ran off._

_**How sweet… this is just so adorable…**_

_The two spent the whole day playing in the large Garden as Sinbad and Freya watched from the distance, they sat beneath a oak large tree, which shielded them from the sun, Freya let her head rest Sinbad's shoulder as she hummed quietly to herself. Before they new it the sun was beginning to set, covering the small island nation in a warm yellow orange colour. Freya picked the boy up and cradled him in her arms just as Sinbad in did the same with Esla as they walked back to the palace._

_They walked through the halls of Purple Leo tower stopping outside one of the grand bedrooms. Sinbad pushed the door open with his free hand and walked into the room with Freya following behind him. They laid the two children onto the bed and pulled the fine silk blankets over them._

"_Good night Esla," Freya said in a tender voice and kissed the young girls forehead, "Goodnight _" she said to the boy and kissed him as well before she and Sinbad left them to slumber._

_Esla was beaming with joy as she looked over to the boy, 'What was his name?' she thought to herself._

_**Oh no, you can't remember his name… how awful.**_

"_Who's there!" Esla shot up from the bed, looking around the room for any sign of the intruder, "Who are you?… where are you!?" she said._

_**Me? Come now, you know who I am**_

_Esla's eyes widened in shock as an image of the intruder began to flow through her mind, "Falan," she gasped, "but that means that this is…" somehow, Esla had forgotten everything when she saw her mother and father._

_**That's right, this is the life you could have had… there's no way for me to give it back to you however, if you come with me I can give you something similar**_

_Falan taunted as Esla clutched her head, "No! you want to hurt me… you want to hurt my Daddy!" she screamed with fear, "You're a monster!"_

_**Me? You think that I'm the monster, that I'm the evil one**_

"_Yes!"_

_**You can't even remember his name**_

_Esla gripped her head tighter as she looked at the figure that was lying on the bed next to her. His form as still nothing but a shadowy figure, she didn't remember anything about this person but she knew that he was special to her. Esla searched her memories for a name, 'His name… what's his name?' Esla thought to herself as she collapsed to her knees._

_**Hahahahahaaaa! You're truly awful aren't you, Esla…**_

"_Shut up!" Esla yelled._

_**Well if your going to get so mad, I guess I'll help you out… his name is…**_

…

"Zafar!" Esla woke up in a panicked sweat, swaying gently from side to side in the hammock that she was in. Esla look around and saw what appeared to be a large wooded room, "Where… am I," Esla clutched her torso as a sudden sharp pain enveloped her body.

"You're on board a ship," A voice called from the doorway.

"Hayato?" she turned in surprise, "You… helped me?" she hesitated, wondering what had brought on the boys sudden change of heart.

"Yeah well, you collapsed with a fever and your wound was really bad… there was no way that Ruri could carry you to safety on her own, and… I couldn't just leave you there," he replied.

"Oh… Thank you Hayato," Esla threw her legs over the side of the hammock and pushed herself to her feet, stumbling slightly as the ship rocked with the waves, "How long have I been asleep?" she asked.

"About three days… You're wound is still pretty bad, you really should rest some more," again Esla could make out a hint of concern in Hayato's voice.

"I'm fine," Esla smiled as she walked to the deck of the ship with Hayato following behind.

…

Esla was met with a bright beam of light as she swung the door that led to the deck open. Using her arm she covered her eyes, allowing them time to adjusted to the intense light. She dropped her arm and looked out across the ocean from the port side, "It's been so long," she said.

"Since what?" Hayato asked as he joined her, leaning against the wooden frame of the ship.

"I haven't seen the ocean since I was last in Sindria," once again her mind drifted back to that fateful day when Falan stole her away, that memory would haunt her for the rest of her life, "It seems like it's been forever since I saw everyone, I just hope that my Dad and the others are alright," deep down Esla new that Al Thamen wouldn't give up now, they had something big planned and were going to use her to achieve their goal, whatever it may be.

Hayato looked out across the ocean, "Yeah, I understand what you mean, I don't have a family left to protect anymore but hopefully… I can help you protect yours,"

Esla looked at Hayato, "What happened to your family?" she asked.

Hayato hesitated, "When I was just a kid, my siblings, father and mother were all murdered by the Imperial Ren family," he said with contempt as the images of his families death flowed through his mind.

"So that's why you hate Royalty so much," Esla remembered the pain of loosing her family 10 year ago, even if it was only a substitute, and she felt sorry for him.

…

Throughout the rest of the day Hayato and Esla talked about their lives and experiences, the sun was now setting and a small island came into view on the horizon, Esla stood up from where she was sitting a walked to the side of the ship, "That's… Sindria!" the fire of hope burned brightly at the sight of the small island, the ocean breeze blowing her long hair behind her.

"Sindria," a voice came from behind them.

Esla turned around, "Ruri, you're finally awake,"

"Yeah," the green haired girl stood next to Esla now, "We're finally home,"

'_Home_,' Esla thought, '_I'm finally home_,'

…

The sky was tinted red as the ship finally docked in the harbour. Esla ran off the ship the second she could with Ruri and Hayato following behind her, "Sindria," Esla let the word roll off her tongue, she felt a warm sensation spread throughout her body and tears stream down her eyes. She remembered the first time she had stepped onto this land, still completely unaware of who she was or why Yunan had sent her here, it seemed as thought that was an eternity ago.

The people who were working in the harbour all stopped and looked at the three newcomers with confusion and curiosity, one man who was pulled a large fishing net across the floor pointed at the leader, "Princess Esla," he said, "It's the Princess, she has return!" they all cheered and huddled around them. One of the soldiers who was patrolling near by saw the commotion and immediately ran to the Palace, the King needed to be informed right away. The word was out, Princess Esla had returned home at last.

…

"My King!" the soldier who had witnessed Esla's return burst through the Palace doors of White Aries tower where a meeting was being held, drawing the attention of not only Sinbad but all of the Generals as well.

"What is it," Jafar answered on Sinbad's behalf.

He knelt down on one knee before the King, "The Princess," he said panting, "Princess Esla has returned,"

Sinbad stood up from where he was sitting with a shocked expression, "What! Where is she," he was not the only one shocked at this news, every one of the Generals were stunned.

"Down by the harbour, she, lady Ruri and a boy have just arrived on the last ship, my King," the soldier stated.

"Lets go then," Pisti shouted across the room as she ran out the door.

"Jafar," Sinbad grabbed the white hair young man, "Has _he_ arrived yet?" he asked.

"Yes," Jafar answered plainly.

"Good."

…

"Princess Esla you've return," the large mob of people only increased in sized as Esla, Ruri and Hayato tried to back away.

"Hello everyone," Esla said, "It's so great to be back,"

"Everyone!" a loud voice commanded, "Please return to your work!"

The crowd fell silent as they all turned to face the voice, without much argument they all spread out and return to whatever they were doing. It was only after the crowd had dispersed that Esla was able to see the soldier that had issued the order. Tears began to once again stream down her cheeks as she saw the person standing behind the young, handsome soldier, "Dad," she said weakly.

Sinbad stepped out from behind the soldiers and the Eight Generals, "Hello… Esla," he waved to her, barely holding back his own joy.

Esla ran up to him and jumped into his arms, "Missed you so much, Daddy," she whispered in his ear.

Ruri looked at the scene that was unfolding before her and smiled, '_Everything's finally back to normal,_' she thought to herself.

Esla released her tight grip on Sinbad, "Esla…" Sinbad hesitated.

The Sindrian Princess wiped the tears away from her cheeks, "What is it?" she said, rubbing her eyes.

"There's something we need to talk about," Sinbad held a rather serious tone, "I haven't told you everything about the past yet,"

"Huh?" she tilted her head in confusion.

…

Back at the Palace Sinbad and Esla walked into a large room that was situated in Purple Leo Tower, for the first time in ages Esla felt at home as she gazed at the unique and stunning Sindrian architecture that filled every corner of the Palace. Sinbad gesture towards the large, comfy looking chairs, "Wait here a moment Esla," he said, confused Esla nodded her head in agreement.

Sinbad walked out of the room leaving Esla to look around at the many flowers that covered the room with bright, vibrant colours and created a heavenly sent. The sun had fully set now and the light of the torches coloured the walls with a yellowy tint, "I wonder what Dad wants to tell me?" Esla pondered for a while as she twirled a violent coloured flower in-between her figures.

A short time past before Sinbad returned, Esla jumped up from her seat, "Dad, what's going on? What was it tha…" She paused mid sentence as she notice that Sinbad had not returned alone, "Who is that?" Esla said as she looked towards the boy standing behind Sinbad, noting his dark purple coloured hair and ocean blue eyes. Those eyes, just looking at them made Esla think about her mother, she to had eyes the colour of the ocean. It took Esla a moment to realize that the boy standing before her was staring at her with those crystal clear blue eyes just as she was him.

"Esla," Sinbad broke the silence that filled the room, "This is Zafar," he said as he gently pushed the young boy forward.

"Hello," Zafar greeted with a smile.

"Hi," Esla returned the greeting with an awkward tone, "Dad, who is this?" Esla directed her question at Sinbad.

Clearing his throat Sinbad looked towards Zafar, "Zafar, I believe Hafa and Bahir already filled you in on all the details,"

Zafar nodded, "Yes, I know that this is Esla, and I know who she is to me,"

Esla simply stood there with a confused look on her face, '_Who I am to him? Just who is this guy?_'

Sinbad turned his attention back to Esla, "Well then Esla I don't expect you to remember who he is, you were only a baby at the time. So let me introduce you to him again," Sinbad cleared his throat in hesitation, "Esla this is Zafar… your brother."

**Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, remember to vote for a happy or sad ending by leaving a comment down below. In the next chapter you'll all get to hear what happen in Zafar's life.**

**Have a great day!**


	13. His Name is Zafar

People lie, they deceive, it's amazing how someone can know more about you then you know about yourself. How was I to know that the first time we were together, lying next to one another, would also be our last for 15 long years?

…

"We meet at last, my precious child," Freya said in a calm voice full of tender love. One of the nurses passed the tiny, newborn baby to Freya, she held her close to her chest as sweat streamed down her body, the last few hours had been hard but now that she was able to see her baby girl Freya realized that it was all worth it. Sinbad placed one hand on Freya's shoulder and on other lightly on the small head of his beautiful baby girl, "You did well Freya, she's beautiful," he smiled tenderly at the baby.

"Yes, she really is," Freya looked down at her baby as she in turned looked up in wonder at the woman that was her mother, "Look Darling, she has your eyes," Freya rocked the baby slowly from side to side and with her soft, gentle voice she hummed a lullaby. All the while Freya watched her squirm and wriggle around in her arms, kicking and waving her arms and legs about the baby lightly tugged on Freya's hair making cute goo and gah noises as she did, "Sin, we still need to name her,"

A short silence followed as Sinbad thought for a moment, "Umm… how about Esla, after my mother?" Sinbad replied as he hugged Freya from behind.

"That's a great idea, alright little one, from now on your name will be Esla. I'm sure you'll grow up into a talented, beautiful young woman, then someday a great and kind Queen," Freya replied.

"How are you feeling my Queen?" the nurse who had just handed Esla over to her parents asked as she bowed with respect.

"Tired," Freya sighed heavily as she handed Esla over to Sinbad to hold.

"Well, unfortunately you won't have much time to rest, the next one should be arriving soon," the nurse smiled.

A long silence hung in the room, "The… other?" Freya tilted her head as she felt a small kick from inside her belly, "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!" Freya almost screamed.

"Another baby!?" Sinbad question, "We only asked for one!" there was a hint of panic in his voice as he unconsciously clutched Esla tighter causing the baby to wriggle so that he would loosen his grip.

The nurse looked confused and tilted her head, "You do know it's twins right?" she asked.

"How cou…" Freya was cut off mid sentence by a burning pain throughout the lower half of her body, "Aaaaaah,"

…

(A few hours later)

Freya let her body fall back onto the bed, she was panting widely and was just barely able to stay awake. She was completely exhausted, giving birth to twins was no easy task. A soft whimper came from next to her as she opened her eyes and saw another baby next to her, she reached her hand out towards the newborn as it grabbed hold of her index finger with its tiny hand.

"It's a boy," the nurse said as Sinbad help Freya sit up so that the nurse could pass the baby over to his mother.

Esla lay silently in a wooden cot lined with silk blankets, "He's beautiful," Freya said with sweat pouring down the sides of her face as she cradled him in her arms.

Sinbad smiled as he pushed a few strands of Freya's moist, sweat ridden hair behind her ears, "I'm sure the entire Kingdom will be pleased to hear that there Queen has just given birth to two babies," he sat down on the edge of the bed next to his wife, "Look, he has your eyes," he mimicked the comment that Freya had made earlier, "He's going to need a name,"

Freya thought for a moment, "Zafar," she let the word escape her mouth, "Sin, let's call him Zafar, after my late brother,"

Sinbad nodded, "Princess Esla and Prince Zafar, it's perfect."

…

Freya looked down into the cradle where her two babies slept soundlessly, one next to the other. The past week had been the hardest of her life, but no matter what happened she wasn't going to let Al Thamen touch a single hair on their heads, not while she was still alive. Freya sat on her bed and gently rocked the cradle back and forth as she waited for Sinbad to return. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity the door to their room slid open, "Sin," Freya stood up from the bed and walked to her husband, her blue eyes filled with worry.

Sinbad took hold of her hands, "Don't worry Freya, Jafar and the others took care of Al Thamen… but, I don't think they're going to give up so easily," his eyes crossed the room to where Zafar and Esla slept side by side. He let go of Freya's hands and walked up to the cradle, looking at their peaceful expressions.

"Sinbad…" Freya began, "We can't keep doing this every time Al Thamen shows up… I want them to grow up safe and happy, not living in fear," she lent down and lightly stroked Zafar's cheek with the back of her fingers.

"I know Freya, that's what I want to…" a feeling of hopelessness coursed through Sinbad's body, "There's only on solution…" He lightly kissed his daughter on the head, "I'll take Zafar to your parents house in Reim…" Sinbad finally said.

Freya looked shocked, "They'll live with my parents?" she asked as she began realized that this might be the only way for the two of them to grow up not having to fear the danger that Al Thamen brought to their lives.

"No…" Sinbad continued, "Zafar will live there, Esla will live some old friends of mine in Tison village… the place that I grew up," he stated.

Freya gasped, "Split them up, we can't do that!" she yelled but quickly realized that if she continued she would wake the babies up.

Sinbad hugged Freya tightly, "I know how you feel Freya, but if they're together then it's all the more likely that Al Thamen will find them… Zafar will have the protection of your family who are Magicians, and Esla will be hidden away in an isolated part of Parthevia," he stepped away and looked into Freya eyes, the ones that he loved so much, "This is the only way for them to be free of Al Thamen's curse,"

Tears began to flow down Freya's cheeks as she picked Esla up from the cradle being careful not to wake her, "Very well," she said as Sinbad lifted Zafar out as well.

…

As Freya flew as fast as she could to Tison Village while Sinbad head for Reim, using his Baal Djinn equip to fly over the vast sea that separated Sindria from the rest of the world. He hadn't been back to Reim very often since he became the King of Sindria but it was exactly as he remembered it, still full of majestic wonder. He finally spotted the large mansion that belonged to the Tristo family, as he saw it he landed on the ground and let his Djinn equip fade away, he sighed heavily as he covered the baby boy with one of the lose blankets Sinbad had used to shield the newborn from the harsh ocean winds. He knocked at the door of the manner and waited for one of the servants to answer, "Lord Sinbad," she gasped as she gestured for him to come inside, eyeing the small bundle that was in his arms curiously.

"Thank you," he said as he walked into the warm, welcoming hallways of the Tristo manner. Still asleep Zafar softly snored with no idea of how his life was about to change forever

…

Sinbad sat down on one of the large sofa's and waited for Hafa and Bahir, "King Sinbad," a feminine voice called from the door as the woman Sinbad new as Freya's mother, Hafa, walked in, followed shortly by Bahir, Freya's father.

"Hafa," Sinbad stood up from his seat still holding Zafar close to him.

Hafa paused, "Is that… your child?" she said wit somewhat excitement, still unaware of the situation that Sinbad was in.

"Yes, this is Zafar, Freya gave birth to twins a week ago, we also have a baby girl we named Esla," he said.

"Zafar… you named him after my son?" Bahir asked as he sat on the large armchair opposite to Sinbad.

"Yes," Sinbad nodded, "And Esla is named after my mother," everyone was seated now as a short silence filled the room.

"What brings you here Sinbad?" Hafa asked, breaking the silence.

"Well…" Sinbad sighed once again.

…

Sinbad spent the next while explaining the situation they had found themselves in to Bahir and Hafa, "So Freya has gone to take Esla to live with some old friends of mine, in the village that I grew up in," he finished.

Hafa looked at the baby who was beginning to stir from slumber, "That's… so sad, why do they always have to torment the two of you," she whispered with a heavy heart, "Sinbad, we will gladly look after Zafar for you," she said in a tender voice filled with admiration for who strong Sinbad and Freya had been throughout this ordeal.

"Yes, the boy will be safe in our care," Bahir added as he watched Zafar kick his right leg out.

"Thank you," Sinbad said as he stood and carefully handed Zafar over to Hafa, taking one last look at him "Please… take care of him,"

…

Sinbad began to walk away from the Tristo manner with Bahir and Hafa watching as he did, Hafa holding Zafar tightly in her arms. He equipped Baal again and his accent into the dark, moonlit skies of Reim when Zafar finally woke up. Somehow he could sense that his father had left him and began to cry, screaming loudly as Sinbad flew away, hearing his screams, Sinbad bit his lip, "I'm so sorry Zafar,"

…

At long last Sinbad landed on the shores of Sindria, he looked up at the sky where the moon shone brightly over the small island that he called home. In the distance Sinbad faintly heard the loud crash of thunder but thought nothing of it, ever since he had left Zafar behind in Reim he had felt more then a bit depressed.

And then it happened, she was there, her body limp, with blood staining the sand cover beach, "Freya!" Sinbad yelled as he ran up to his wife. He fell at her side, "Freya, Freya, Freya!" he repeated as his wife lay dead in his arms. He looked up to the sky where he saw a retreating figure cloaked in black. Tears overflowed from his eyes as he hugged Freya's lifeless body close to him, his head cast downwards. They had done this, they were the ones to blame. Al Thamen, they would pay dearly for the sins they have committed.

**Sorry if this was not the chapter you were expecting to read but I hope you enjoyed the beginning of Zafar's back story. Look forward to the next chapter where you'll get to hear more about Zafar's life as he grew up in Reim. Voting is still open, just leave a comment down below with happy or sad.**


	14. 10 Years Later

(10 years after Zafar arrived in Reim)

Zafar fell face first into the pile of fluffy pillows that lay on his bed, "Grounded? What do they mean grounded?!" his voice sounded muffled and he kicked his legs, "I just wanted to see if that dumb dog was fire proof," he trembled at the thought of the stray dog that had been roaming around the Tristo Manner these past few weeks. On several occasions the stupid thing had lashed out and attacked him, the dog would try to bite and scratch him and would have succeeded if Zafar wasn't on his toes, "If only Latif hadn't told Grandfather," he pounded the innocent pillow with his fist.

Zafar was now ten years old, and just as Hafa and Bahir had planned he still had no idea who his parents were, nor what the future held for him. A number of times Zafar had asked his grandparents about his mother and father, as well as why they had left his upbringing to them, but every time he did Hafa and Bahir would ignore the question, brushing it to the side with ideal conversation. From the window Zafar heard a tapping sound, he walked over and pushed the window open. He walked out onto the balcony, immediately noticing a few small stones, upon reaching the edge of the balcony he looked down at the garden below.

There was a young boy, no older then himself, standing there waving at him, "Zafar!" the boy called.

Zafar waved back, "Hey Karim," he lent against the balconies railing. Zafar had met Karim many years ago now, he was the child of one of the Tristo's trading partners.

"There's something I want to show you, come down from there!" he shouted, but not loud enough that anyone else could hear.

Zafar sighed, "I'm grounded right now… you know what my grandparents are like, they've probably put a barrier up around the room," he extended his hand and felt and invisible wall that lit up for a moment, that light then spread out around the room that Zafar had been banished to and faded back to nothing. A barrier, go figure.

Karim shrugged, "Unlike them your not a Magician, they've probably only used a weak spell…" he thought for a moment, "I can probably break it with my magic,"

Zafar eyed his friend keenly as Karim concentrated and created a small fireball throwing it at the barrier. Surely enough Karim was right, with that one small fireball, the barrier was destroyed.

Zafar stepped onto the railing and jumped down into the garden, "Thanks… so what was it you wanted to show me?"

Karim shrugged, "You'll find out soooooooooon," he teased then grabbed Zafar's arm and pulled him towards the beach.

…

When they arrived Zafar looked out across the ocean, covering his eyes with his hand from the glare of the sun, but he saw nothing new or out of the ordinary, just sand water and sea shells, "Karim, there's nothing here, it's just the ocean," he kick a patch of sand in frustration.

Karim grinned then twisted Zafar's head to the left and pointed to a rock formation off shore, "There!" he said in excitement.

Zafar squinted against the afternoon sun and was able to see what Karim was so worked up about, "What is that?" Zafar questioned, from where he was the rock cluster was no larger then a bump in the ocean but he could defiantly see something sitting on top of it.

Karim cleared his voice and puffed out his chest, "I heard my father talking about these things called Dungeons a while ago… this my friend, is Gusion," Zafar raised his right eyebrow, beckoning Karim to continue. Catching Zafar's curious look Karim continued, "Apparently, they're towers that appear out of no where all over the world, and when they do people from every part of the country come to try and capture them. Inside they hold many riches, but also dangerous creatures that guard those riches, and whoever manages the conquer the Dungeon will receive the greatest treasure of all, a Djinn," Karim looked over to Zafar who was now memorized by the strange tower, wishing he knew what secrets it held within its walls, "So Zafar… what do you think? Want to come and capture it with me," he grinned.

Zafar looked over to his friend an excited look in his clear blue eyes. He nodded his head, "Lets do this!" enthusiasm filled the air, "But… how are we going to get there? You haven't master gravity magic yet and I'm not a magician,"

Karim ran forward and jumped into the cold ocean waters, "How?" he mocked, "We're going to swim!"

…

Together they paddled all the way to the rock cluster and with great difficulty climber up the side. Dripping with water and panting for breath Zafar knelt close to the edge and looked up at the gigantic tower that stood before them in awe, compared to when they were on the beach and the tower looked about the size of a twig, this thing was huge! Zafar looked around, surprised to see that the large center rock wasn't just stone, it was covered in dirt, grass, trees and small bushes.

Karim stood up from where he had fallen over to catch his breath and extended his hand to Zafar, "Shall we go then," he smiled.

Zafar's short purple hair blew gently in the ocean breeze and his crystal blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight, he reached out his hand and grabbed hold of Karim's, "Yeah," They ran towards the gate of the Dungeon.

Never again would their lives would be the same.

**Just a short chapter to keep things going. Voting is still open so leave a comment and vote for happy or sad, or you can leave and tips or suggestions for the story.**

**Have a great day!**


	15. The Dungeon of Gusion

For a moment it felt as though Zafar was weightless, like he was gliding across the universe. He flicked his eyes open and saw a red planet, shocked he reached out his hand, trying to grab hold of the glowing red orb. Against the palm of his hand he felt a rough surface, he blinked, but when his eyes opened once more he was surrounded by black, he lifted his hand up to where he could see what laid in the centre of it, "A stone?" he looked around confused, "Karim!" he called as his voice echoed around him. He slowly pushed himself to his feet, "Karim was right next to me just a minute ago, where is he?" Zafar squinted his eyes, he could now make out the rough figure of a long stone passage way. Zafar glance around him once more in case Karim was just teasing him, then shrugged and made his way down the passage way.

Time ticked by as he continued to walk in the direction that the passage was leading him. Either Zafar was walking slower then he thought he was or this passage way was a lot longer then he had originally anticipated, he had been walking for what seemed like hours and there was still no end in sight. Zafar lent against the cold stone wall, taking a short break, "Where the heck is Karim!?" ever since the two of them had been separated Zafar had felt uneasy, "I just hope that idiot hasn't gone and gotten himself killed," he looked forward and pushed himself off of the wall, walking further into the darkness.

Squinting his eyes, Zafar could see a bright light growing larger with every step he took, "Is that the exit?" hope filled his being as the light before him grew more intense. It was then that he realised that he wasn't getting closer to the light, the light was getting closer to him. He covered his eyes as the light engulfed him, "What the!?"

…

_A man and women stood side by side as a crowd of cheered from below, they yelled their joys out as the man waved to them. While there faces were obscured by shadow Zafar could tell that they were smiling, he didn't know why but the two of them were very happy about something. A strong gust of wind blew around the place, Zafar looked around and could see that this was some kind of Palace, the architecture was unlike anything he had ever seen before, but deep down his heart ached. He couldn't shake the feeling that these people were special to him, he had seen them before but had no memory of it._

_Another bright lighten enveloped him once again._

…

Zafar flicked his eyes open and fell to his knees panting, "What was that!" he clutched his head as a burning sensation over took it. He looked up to see that he was no longer in the tunnel he had spent so long walking through. He was now kneeing on a beach, not unlike the one on the shores of Reim, surrounded in every direction by a vast blue ocean that sparkled in the sunlight. Slowly he pushed himself to his feet, "Where am I now?" covering his eyes from the intense light, Zafar looked around him, in front of him lay the ocean and behind him was a tropical jungle. Looking above the treeline he could see that one tree was much taller then the rest, "That must be where the Djinn lives," looking at the situation Zafar decided that it would be best to take cover in the jungle, it would be a good way to escape the harsh heat of the sun. He quickly made his way into the cover of the trees.

It didn't take him long, but Zafar soon discovered that although he was protected from the sun, the inside the jungle was very, very humid. Since Zafar had grown up in Reim where this type of weather was uncommon it was hard for him to adapt. He ran his tongue over the inside of his mouth and noticed that there wasn't the smallest bit of moisture left, he then looked at his arm and saw that he was dripping with sweat, "If this keeps up I'll die of dehydration before I make it to the treasure room," he looked around the forest and saw in the distance that there was a small pond, just waiting for someone to drink from it.

Pushing the vines and branches out of his way he made his way over to the pond, kneeing down and looking into his reflection. At first he was rather put off, his hair had become so wet and frizzy from all the sweat that it was no longer straight, in fact it was closer to being a afro then anything else.

He dunked his head into the water, taking several mouthfuls of the delicious liquid and cooling himself at the same time. When he couldn't hold his breath and longer he pulled his head out of the pond and stared into his reflection again. No more Afro, victory. As he stared into the water it began to ripple, his reflection changed, he leaned in closer to take a look at the images that were forming before him.

…

_Nothing but scream filled the night air as a great fire burnt everything it touched to ashes. The flames licked the walls of the buildings causing them to crumble to the ground, fireballs and lighting bolts flying everywhere as a great battle raged on. Through the middle of this chaose Zafar could see a lone girl walking through the streets. She walked and walked forced to listen to the agonizing screams of both parent and child alike, wounds cover he entire body. A feeling of hopelessness began to fill Zafar, it was as though he was there himself, what had caused this? he watched the girl as she collapsed before a Palace, he noticed that this was the same one he had seen before._

"_Why…" she whispered as Zafar watch the girl cry, his heart pounding in his chest, wishing that he could do something for her, "why did things end up like this… I can't save them, there's nothing I can do," slowly she pulled her hands over her ears trying to drown out the citizen's pleas for help. Zafar watched in horror as the girl pleaded to the sky, "Someone please help!" she screamed, "WHAT AM I MEANT TO DO!"_

…

Zafar jumped backwards from the pond, falling flat on his butt and frantically panting for breath, "What's going on!?" he look around as though he would find someone to blame for these mysterious visions. Picking himself off the ground he looked up to the sky, "I can't see anything through the treetops… just how far have I come," he paused for a moment taking in the silence of the jungle, "These Dungeons are meant to be filled with dangerous creators right... so where are they?" suspicious of a surprise attack from the mysterious creators Zafar continued in the direction he assumed the treasure room would be in.

As Zafar continued carefully making his way to the treasure room more visions ran through his mind. To him they didn't mean much, just a string of images of the girl from before, a place that looked like the Kou Empire and more of the man he had seen in his first vision. As he walked deeper into the jungles clutches the foliage became thicker and thicker, he pushed his way through the dense jungle, stopping every now and again to catch his breath. Zafar let himself flopped backwards against a tree for a moment of rest, he closed his eyes, as his conscious began to fade.

…

_Through the jungle Karim was running as fast as he could, never looking back, "Zafar! Where are you!" he scream as he tripped over one of the low hanging vines. With a thud he landed face first on the ground. He pushed himself up and stumbled a few paces before collapsing onto the ground, clutching his leg in pain, in front of him a large door. He looked up with a terrified expression as he let a blood-curdling scream._

…

Zafar's eyes flicked open in a panic, "Karim!" he look around frantically for his friend. In the silence of the jungle he heard a small rustle from above him, then to his side. He pulled himself to his feet and glanced around. Whatever it was, was now surrounding in from every possible direction, and there were a lot of them. From one of the near by trees a creator that looked like the animal Bahir had called a baboon dropped to the floor, then a few more appeared from behind the trees and bushes, slowly closing in on Zafar.

Zafar picked up one of the sticks that littered the forest floor and began to wave it about in front of him, "Get back!" he yelled. Zafar noticed that one of the baboon like creators had blood staining its hair, primarily around its mouth. Zafar gulped as his previous vision jumped into his head, "It can't be," he tried to dismiss the thought.

From the left one of the baboons jumped forward, making an indescribable screeching sound as he did. Quickly Zafar used the stick to beat the attack away and began to run through the opening it had left. But the baboons were smarter then he had anticipated, and faster too, they very quickly closed the gap that Zafar had made, many tried to pin him to the ground by jumping on top of him. Zafar wacked each of them with the stick he held and continued to run, '_This is really bad!,_' he thought as a few more of the baboons jumped out at him, '_Where are they all coming from?_' the gap between him and the baboons was widening once again, he continued to run at full speed. In the distance he spotted a fallen log, as he approached it he jumped over and hid in the hollowed out side, this was the only way he would be able to escape certain death.

Zafar watched in terror as the baboons each jumped over the log and continued running after him, not knowing that Zafar was hidden right beneath them.

When he could no longer hear or see the baboons Zafar sighed with relief and climbed out of the hollow being extra cautious, "Finally," he whisper, fearing that they might hear him. He looked around himself in confusion, he no longer knew where he was. Squinting his eyes Zafar was able to make out the rough shape of a large door, his heart skipped a beat, "The treasure room!" he ran as fast as he could the one place he knew that he would be safe from harm. As he past sever bushes and trees he noticed small bloodstains and a feeling of dread once again consumed him, "Karim!" he yelled as he came closer to the door.

He could see it now, on the ground, laying limp, was Karim, or at least what was left of him.

Zafar fell to his knees as he came upon the corpse of his friend, his eyes wide with fear, anger and sadness, "Karim," he closed his eyes trying to block the horrific image from his mind. He stood up and walked over to the door, never looking back.

Zafar placed his hand onto the door, "Open Sesame," he said with a hopeless voice as the doors flung open.

…

Zafar had learnt two things that day, the first, power is needed to protect those around you, the second, things aren't always as they appear.

As he walked into the grand treasure room Zafar glance around, looking for anything that may contain the Djinn Gusion, he had come this far and no one else would steal him away. In the centre of the room there was a thick golden pillar, upon it a golden, metal belt. The belt was of a peculiar design, it was made up of around ten circles, each with various symbols engraved upon it, one of the circles was larger then the rest and from it dangled three tassels.

Zafar walked over to the belt and placed his right hand on it, intently the room was illuminated with a bright, warm light. As the light shone a giant blue figure came out of the belt, overwhelmed Zafar stepped backwards.

"My name is Gusion, who will become King!?" the Djinn bellowed.


	16. The Djinn of Honour and Dignity

"My Name is Gusion, who will become King!?" the Djinn bellowed.

Zafar stared up at the Djinn in amazement. He has never seen anything like him before, the Djinn's head had the shape of a baboons, Zafar noticed that the mighty Djinn wore several thick, golden necklaces that draped loosely around his neck, gold was a reoccurring trend with this giant as he also wore two gold rings that fit tightly on his muscular arms just below his shoulders.

Zafar stepped back when the Gusion bent down, his face inches away from Zafar's. At last the mighty Djinn spoke once again, "Zafar, I have seen your past, and have gazed into your future, I judge you to be worthy of receiving my power,"

'_Zafar? how does Gusion know my name?_' Zafar pondered as Gusion moved backwards folding his arms his arms, "Gusion! tell me, how do you know my name?" Zafar asked.

Gusion paused a moment, "I have many powers, in time, you will discover these for yourself," there was another pause as the blue giant seemed to analyze Zafar, "I see you have no vessel I can inhabit," Gusion pointed at the belt that he had emerged from, "Use this, I will live inside of it and aid you whenever you might call upon me," he folded his arms once again.

Zafar picked up the cold metal belt with one hand, taking a closer look at its intricate design, "Powers? What kind of powers?" Zafar asked in confusion.

"It is as I have said, you will discover them in your own time. I have no doubt that you will be able unlock your full potential," Gusion closed his eyes and his third eye began to glow, "Your Grandparents are desperately searching for you Zafar, you should leave now,"

Zafar wrapped the belt around his waist as an eight pointed star appeared on the floor, he look up at Gusion, "They are?" he sounded somewhat surprised.

Gusion laughed, "The resemblance is uncanny... go young one!" Gusion bellowed, "Go back to your world if you wish to know the truth you have been looking for,"

Wondering what Gusion has meant by 'resemblance', Zafar closed his eyes and allowed himself to be carried away from the Dungeon, far away from the place that stole the life of his best friend, "The truth I've be looking for," Zafar spoke softly as every muscle in his body began to ache, "When I think about it there's so much about myself that I don't know, it's sad to think that someone else might know more about me then even I do," he closed his eyes, mentally picturing his family. Zafar had never met his Mother and Father, they were a blur to him, "It's high time that Grandfather gave me some answers. I need to know, I have the right to know!"

**Wow, so it's** **been a while since I last uploaded a chapter and for those of you who are wondering why,** **it's** **because I recently changed computers** **which has led to some technical difficulties with writing. Sorry for the short chapter, but I though it would be best to just upload a chapter to let you know I wasn't dead.**

**Remember to comment below, any advise is more then welcome.**


	17. The Truth

Zafar burst through the door to the place that he had called home for ten years, "Grandfather!" he shouted in anger.

"Zafar!" Hafa pulled the young boy into a tight embrace from behind, "Where have you been!? We were so worried!"

Zafar felt a small tired fall on his head before he pulled himself from Hafa's grip, "That's not important right now, where is Grandfather?" he demanded once more looking his Grandmother in the eye.

Hafa's eyes grew watery as she covered her mouth, "Zafar, you've been gone for over a month… your Grandfather, he…" her voice was shaky as she fell to the ground.

It was at this point that Zaki, the eldest child of the house rounded the same corner that Hafa had appeared from, followed by two servants. He knelt down next to his mother and held her by the shoulders, "Please escort my Mother back to her room," he directed the servants. As the servants took Hafa away Zaki stood back up and looked at Zafar, "Like Mother said, you've been gone for over a month. A lot has happen,"

"I don't care about that! What's wrong with Grandmother and where is Grandfather!?" Zafar's frustration was boiling to the surface.

Zaki held a hand up to silence the purple haired boy, "Enough, follow me," he simply said as he walked down the hallway and into an empty room where the two could talk in private. Confused and angry Zafar did as Zaki asked.

…

The two sat across from each other on soft couches that were separated by a wooden coffee table. Zaki took a sip of tea that the maid had brought them then looked at the golden belt that now sat on Zafar's waist, "So you went and captured a Dungeon," Zafar was about to shout a barrage of questions again but was cut off by Zaki's sigh, "You are so much like your Father," he gently placed the tea cup on the coffee table.

Zafar drew back at his last comment, "Like my father? You mean you knew him!?"

Zaki let a small smile form on his lips, "Yes, in fact I first met him before he married my little sister , but that's a story for another time. You wanted to know about Father correct well you should know that you wont be seeing him again,"

Zafar looked confused, "What are you talking about?"

Zaki looked down at the tea cup, "After you disappeared he was under a tremendous amount of stress, from both his work and the search for you. About a week ago he was in a meeting and collapsed an hour later he was pronounced dead,"

Zafar fell silent trying to process this information, "He's… dead?" Zafar lent back into the couch and looked at the ceiling, "He can't be," he whispered.

A deafening silence filled the room for a moment until Zaki finally broke it, "I know he never told you about your parents, he did everything in his power to protect you from that knowledge. I want you to know that I didn't agree with that, I've wanted to tell you about them for a long time now but Father felt that _her_ death would have been meaningless if we did. After all you were brought here so that you would be safe,"

Zafar looked confused, "What do you mean?"

Zaki cleared his throat, "I believe that you are now old enough to know the truth about your past," he took a deep breath, "As you know your Mothers name is Freya, she was my little sister and third in line to inherit the company. You were named after my older brother Zafar who died of illness many years ago. What you don't know is that your fathers name is Sinbad,"

"Sinbad?" Zafar said, still confused, "Isn't he..."

"That's right, Sinbad is the King of Sindria. I'm sure you've heard of him before," Zaki finished for him.

Zafar nodded slowly, "But if he's my father then doesn't that make me a… Prince?"

This time it was Zaki that did the nodding, "Yes, you are Prince Zafar of Sindria. And you have a twin sister, Princess Esla,"

Zafar swayed in shock, "So not only am I a Prince but I also have a sister?" he made contact with Zaki's eyes once again.

"Yes,"

"If that's true then why was I raised here? Why would my Father abandon me like this? Where is my sister?" he rubbed his head in frustration, "How did this happen?"

Zaki took a deep breath. "Your sister was separated from you at birth, it was done for your protection, last I heard she was living in Tison village in Parthevia with some old friends of Sinbad's. You Father did not abandon you he did this to protect you and Esla from Al Thamen,"

"Al Thamen?" Zafar asked.

Zaki took another deep breath, "Well..."

…

Over the course of the next few hours Zaki explained everything to Zafar, all the mysterious surrounding his birth and how he came to live in the Tristo manner, answering any and all questions the young boy had about his past.

After this they went on to discuss Zafar's new Djinn. Zaki suggested that he spend the next year or so learning to use his new power and master it fully before leaving Reim to find his sister and return to Sindria.

And so five years pasted by. Just like his father Zafar had quickly learned how to use his metal vessel, but he had decided to stay in Reim with Zaki and the others to learn more about the world before going to find his sister. When he met nothing but dead ends he heads to Sindria to meet his Father Sinbad while Esla was being held in the Kou Empire.

Zafar is now 15 years old and meets Esla for the first time.

**Well this is something you don't see everyday. A new chapter. Yaaaaay! I have kind of been trying to write a few chapters in advance so that I can update this story a little more frequently. Yeeeeaaaaah I don't think it really worked to be honest. Anyhoo next chapter we're starting a new arch so as usual leave a comment below to tell me your thoughts and give any suggestions you'd like.**


	18. Reunion

(Present Day)

A gentle breeze drifted through the room as Sinbad turned his attention back to Esla, "Well then Esla I don't expect you to remember who he is, you were only a baby at the time. So let me introduce you to him again," Sinbad cleared his throat with hesitation, gesturing towards the purple haired boy, "Esla this is Zafar… your brother," Silence filled the room, neither Zafar nor Esla had any idea what to say next, so they just stared at each other in awe, "I know this is a lot to take in, the two of you should spend some quiet time together, I've asked the servants here to prepare dinner for you," Sinbad began to back out of the room, "If you need anything just ask," he said as he closed the door behind him leaving the two siblings to themselves.

Esla stood, awestruck at the sight of the boy in front of her. No. Not a boy, her brother, Zafar, '_I have a brother?,_' she gulped not knowing what to say.

Zafar in turn stared back at his sister, the sister he didn't know existed until a few years ago, "Hi..." he finally broke the silence, his voice weak and shaky.

Esla gulped again, "Hi," she waved shyly, "Ummm, do you want to sit down," she pointed towards the chairs.

Zafar nodded slowly, "That might be a good idea," hesitantly the twins made their way to the chairs and fell back into them, "So I hear that your a Magician," Zafar looked at his sister.

"Yes, I mainly use wind magic but can use other types of spells as well," she said as she fiddled with one of the cushions, "What about you? Are you a Magician?"

Zafar shook his head, "No, I'm not, but when I was ten years old I captured a Dungeon and gain the powers of the Djinn, Gusion," he said as she tapped the metal belt he wore.

"Really? What kind of powers did you gain from him?" she asked curiously.

Zafar simply smiled, "You'll have to wait and find out now won't you,"

Esla rolled her eyes a little, "Still it's hard to believe that a ten-year-old boy captured a Dungeon. When I was ten I was living in the Great Rift learning Magic from Yunan," she let out a small chuckle as she remembered the time she set the blonde haired Magi on fire.

Zafar's eyes lit up, "You learned magic from a Magi! That's amazing,"

Esla rubbed her neck awkwardly, "Yeah, I owe him a lot, he saved me from Al Thamen when they attacked the village I grew up in," he eyes began to water as she pictured the dying faces of her family.

Zafar looked down, "Two years ago I left Reim to find you. My Uncle, Zaki had told me that you were living in Tison village so I went there to look for you, but when I arrived all that remained were ruins… I didn't give up hope though, I spent the next two years searching the world for any trace of you," he fell silent, "But deep down I thought you had died there," he whispered softly.

Esla bit her lip, "I'm sorry you had to go through that… but out of curiosity why did you come to Sindria in the end?" she asked.

"Well I was in Sasan when I met the Knight King Darius Leoxses, he recognised me as one of Sinbad's children and we had a long conversation during which he told me that you were alive and well living in Sindria," he cleared his throat, "So I jumped on a ship headed for Sindria immediately, I had always intended to go there but I wanted to find you first, but when I arrived things weren't in the best condition..."

…

(One month ago)

_The sea crushed against the hull of the ship that Zafar was aboard as the island of Sindria came into view. Zafar squinted, true the island could be seen but it was still far into the distance. However the moment he laid eyes on the tiny island he knew that something was wrong. All of a sudden a blinding light shone from the island. Zafar covered his eyes with his arm, "What's that light!?" he shouted as the light dimmed. He looked back at the island for a few moments before he noticed a figure heading towards them at an impossible speed. He only caught a glance of the red hair women dressed in long black robs that he assumed was some kind of Magician. The women whoever she was appeared the be carrying something in her eyes but Zafar couldn't make out what it was. Puzzled he looked towards the island once more, "I'm almost home," he clenched his fist, "Esla, Father… wait for me!"_

…

As the ship pulled into the harbour Zafar was shocked to see that most of the city lay in ruins, he gasped in horror as his clear blue eyes scanned his surroundings, "What happened here?" he questioned in a weak voice as his eyes landed on a girl around his age with green hair sobbing on her knees, in front of her was what appeared to be a body of a young man not to much older then Zafar. Cautiously Zafar walked over to the sobbing girl, "Are you all right?" he asked as he rested a hand on her shoulder.

The girl looked up in surprise, "They took her, they took my best friend!" her eyes eyes were filled with tears as she took noticed of the mysterious boys appearance, "You… you look just like… Who are you!?" a sudden wave of anger fell over her as she jumped back, clutching the bracelet around her left wrist.

Zafar jumped with surprise, "My name is Zafar," he held his hands up, trying to to aggravate the girl anymore then she already was, "What's your name?" he asked in a calming manner.

The green haired girl hesitated for a moment, "It's Ruri," she took a step back.

A sudden gust of wind caused Zafar's short purple hair to blow around as he looked at the body, "Was he your friend?" he asked.

Ruri nodded, "Yes, although I didn't know him very well… he was Esla's older brother,"

At this Zafar's eyes widened he lunged forward gripping Ruri by the shoulders before she knew what hit her, "You know Esla! You know my sister!" he shouted.

"Sister?" Ruri said softly, "How is that…. Possible?"

"Ruri!" a masculine voice called from behind as Sinbad ran towards the two teens, Jafar and Masrur following close behind.

Ruri shot around, "King Sinbad!" she called back before freeing herself from Zafar's grip and running towards the Sindrian King, "It's Esla! Al Thamen, they took her!" she shouted in a panic, "I tried to stop them but is was no use," tears fell down her pale cheeks, "They got her,"

While Ruri confronted Sinbad Zafar stood completely still, shocked and unsteady, '_Did she just say Sinbad? This… this man is my Father!_' his thoughts were chaotic.

"Calm down Ruri," Sinbad laid a shaking hand on the shivering girls shoulder, "It wasn't your fault," he was trying desperately to keep his emotions in check when his eyes fell on Zafar. He swallowed as he walked past Ruri, "No I can't be," his was was shaky, "Zafar?" he gasped.

Zafar stood still not knowing what to do, "Sin!" Jafar shouted from behind as he and Masrur came to halt, "What happened down he…" he stopped mid sentence at the sight of Zafar, "Impossible,"

Zafar stepped back trying desperately to regain his composure. He took a deep breath, "Hello, Father,"

Ruri's eyes widened in shock, "Father?"

Sinbad's jaw was practically touching the floor as he stared at the son he hadn't seen in over 15 years, "Zafar… how can you be here?"

Zafar bit his lip, "Zaki told me everything years back, I came here in search of my Sister and to meet you," he clenched his fists, emotion boiling to the surface. There were so many things he wanted to say, so much he longed to ask the Father he only just met.

Sinbad rubbed his temples, "Jafar…"

"Yes Sin?" Jafar pulled his attention away from the purple haired boy.

"Please take Ruri back to the Palace and see that she is take care of… I need some time alone with my son," he looked back at Jafar, "I'll call for you when we're done," he said as Jafar guided the trembling Ruri back up to the Palace.

…

(Present day)

"After that I talked with Father for what seemed like and eternity, he filled me in on everything that's happened since you arrived in Sindria," Zafar smiled, "When we had finished getting to know each other Father called a meeting where it was decided that Ruri would go look for you. He thought that it would be best if I stayed hidden here. After all Al Thamen still have no idea where I am, and Father hopes to keep it that way,"

Esla let out a long sigh, "When I came here not that long ago I was searching for answers. I discovered who my Father was only to be separated from him almost immediately. Then when I finally free myself from Al Thamen's clutches and return I discover that I have a twin brother as well," she closed her eyes, picturing her Mothers face, "I just wish things could have been different… if only Al Thamen never existed, so many people wouldn't have lost their lives, including Mum," she clenched her fist, "If I could I would erase them from them this world,"

"Calm down Esla, that doesn't sound like you at all!" a cheerful voice call from behind the two siblings.

Esla turned around swiftly to see a family set of blue eyes and long, braided blonde hair, "Yunan!"

**That's right, I'm not dead! Yay for me. Anyhoo I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and welcome to the final ark in this story. I was contemplating whether or not to keep things going for a while longer but decided that the time had come. Remember to leave a comment down below to tell me your thoughts.**


	19. Important Annnoncement

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm so I thought that I should probably write something about the situation I'm in at the moment. A while ago my computer stuffed up and I lost a whole bunch of stuff, including the chapters of this little fanfic that I would have been uploading within the next few days (all that hard work I put into writing chapters ahead of time just went flying down the toilet O_O) so it's probably going to be a while before I start uploading once again but I will try my hardest to upload something soon.


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